The Doe and the Stag
by mysterywings
Summary: How in the world did Lily Evans and James Potter get together?  This story tells all, with both perspectives and more.  Years 1-7.
1. First Sight

**Yay! Second fic! All right: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did I'd be the happiest person on EARTH! **

**Please R+R! **

_Chap. 1_  
**First sight**

The scarlet engine pulled out of Kings Cross Station. Lily Evans stared out of the window, gazing at the crowd of people waving goodbye at their sons and daughters. Her attention was caught on a particular trio. Two of them were adults; the woman had straight red hair, just like Lily, while the man was blonde and slightly taller than his wife. They both waved goodbye happily at her, in direct contrast with the thin, blonde-haired girl in between them, who had her arms tightly crossed to her chest. Lily sniffed quietly, wiping her eyes, feeling a pang of remorse. Eleven-year-old Lily wished she never gotten that darn letter from Hogwarts. If she didn't, her only sister wouldn't have been mad at her. If she didn't, she'd never be on this train, which quickly sped ahead, carrying her farther and farther away from her loved ones.

Family out of sight, Lily nestled in her seat, glancing sideways with wet eyes at the two boys in the compartment with her. Watching them made her feel even more lonely. They were in the middle of a lively conversation and she did not know them - they, of course, didn't know her either, and they seemed just fine with that. Pulling her knees to her chest, Lily sobbed bitterly. Lily had always dreamed this day to be happy and wondrous. But Petunia had to ruin it: by disowning her.

**Meanwhile**

James Potter watched as the scenery outside his train window whizzed by quickly. In mere minutes, the Hogwarts Express chugged rhythmically on an open track, as red as the foliage on the surrounding trees, smoke trailing behind them. He started to chat with his new friend Sirius Black, whom he met in the station. They talked about Quidditch and the school year ahead. Sirius talked about the many pranks he pulled on his many cousins as James's thoughts began to wander away from the compartment and back to the train station, where his parents watched the back of the train disappear.

James knew well that his parents tried for many years to have a son or daughter, but to no avail. Their youth waning, the Potters started to lose hope, but then his mother was pregnant with James. He was their only son, and thus a "miracle child" in the Potter family. James was told this many times.

Then the force of fate tugged James's attention to the red-haired girl sharing their compartment, crying quietly. Watching her shoulders tremble with sobs, he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her. "Hey," he said. He pointed. "Are you okay?"

The girl looked up. She sniffed. "Does it look like it?" she implored dully.

_She doesn't lie, _thought James. "Well…no."

"Are you going to make fun of me for crying?" Lily challenged.

"No," James replied, taken aback. What made this girl think that she could talk to him like that? He searched her face. And for a second, James was startled by how green her eyes were.

"Well?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"It's just that Hogwarts is a great school, and you shouldn't be worried about anything." _Now, where did those words come from?_ he wondered. Sirius raised a brow.

Her gaze softened. "Thank you," she said, and Lily turned back to the window, gazing at outside.

As the two boys resumed their conversation Lily blushed ever so slightly. The boy who comforted her was pretty cute, though he could run a comb through his hair. She wondered what Petunia would say about him…but then Lily remembered…

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. The compartment door scraped open as Sev entered. Lily looked away deliberately as he sat down across from her. "I don't want to talk you," she said.

"Why not?" Severus asked.

"Tuney h-hates me because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

"So what?" the sallow-faced boy replied. James, who was half-listening to their conversation, frowned. "Tuney" obviously was dear to the red-haired girl. He took an immediately disliking to this boy.

James turned back to Sirius and forgot about them until he heard the forbidden words: "You'd better be in Slytherin."

"Slytherin?" repeated James, shocked that anyone would actually _want_ to be in that wretched house. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked Sirius.

Sirius answered flatly. "My whole family's been in Slytherin."

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!" joked James, and Sirius cracked a smile.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition," his friend said, as if he'd been thinking about this for a while. "Where would you be heading, if you've got the choice?"

James imagined the Gryffindor sword in his hands. " 'Gryffindor, where the brave dwell at heart'. Like my dad."

He heard a snort from that greasy-haired boy's direction. "Got a problem with that?" James hissed. When would this guy stop ticking him off?

"No," sneered grease-boy. "But if you'd rather have brawn than brains – "

"Don't see where you're going, as you've got neither!" mocked Sirius.

The red-haired girl stood up, red with anger. "Come on, Severus, let's go," she said. All good thoughts about James had already evaporated like wet pavement on a sunny day. So had the pity James had for Lily. Sirius and James mocked her voice, substituting the name "Severus" for "Snivellus". And that is how the rivalry started.

* * *

All of the first-years practically bounced in their seats with excitement as the train, after perpetual motion, finally pulled to a stop at Hogwarts. Lily was ecstatic enough to forget about Petunia. The moon reflected brilliantly on the inky black water as dozens of boats carrying first-years drifted towards Hogwarts. Severus and Lily shared a boat. She gasped in awe when the shining windows of Hogwarts came into sight. Yearning for a better look at the great castle, she leaned forward in the boat, causing it to rock and splash water all over her robes.

"Careful!" said a girl sharing the boat with them. She had a round face and cropped blonde hair, with kind eyes. Gently pulling Lily back into the boat's seat, she magically caused her robes to dry with a flick of her wand.

"Thanks," said Lily.

"Alice Fiona Barnard, at your service," the girl grinned, holding out a hand.

Lily shook it, smiling at her new friend, though she did not notice a look of jealousy in Severus's eyes.

As she walked into the Great Hall with her two comrades, Lily's nervousness began to grow. On the train Severus explained all of the Houses at Hogwarts. He insisted that Lily belonged in Slytherin, though Lily wasn't sure if she belonged in any of them. Ravenclaw seemed cool, but you had to be really smart. Lily had always attended a Muggle school; she had no idea about her academic status in a _magic_ school. Lily felt a slight pity to those who went to Hufflepuff, but she guessed it'd have to be interesting to be in a great melting pot of characters. Gryffindor seemed better than Sev had explained to her, but Lily knew you had to be brave; she never had her bravery tested before. Mostly purebloods went into Slytherin, but Lily remembered what Severus told her: that blood status didn't matter.

Lily chatted with Severus and Alice, trying to calm her nerves, when an aged man stood up. The Hall immediately hushed; his authority was that apparent. "I welcome you one and all," he announced, "to Hogwarts: school of witchcraft and wizardry."

Everyone applauded. Lily clapped half-heartedly. Her fear and anxiety piled up in her stomach like sand in an hourglass. The Sorting would be soon.

The old man turned out to be Professor Dumbledore, and he was the Headmaster of the school. Lily observed the kind twinkle in his blue eyes and his wise demeanor. Then the Sorting began. As a teacher called up students in alphabetical order, a nightmare appeared to Lily:

_Lily's name was called, and the Hat was plopped down on her head. A moment passed, and the Hat said nothing. Another moment. Silence. "How odd," the Hat croaked. "This girl doesn't belong in any of the Houses!" A collective gasp rang through the whole Hall. _

_Dumbledore shook his head, disappointed. "I'm afraid we'll have to send her home," he said. The teachers seized Lily and commenced to drag her out of the Hall. "No, no!" Lily screamed, "Give me another chance! Don't send me back to Petunia!…"_

Lily blinked, realizing that it didn't happen and trying to convince herself that it _wouldn't _happen. Then, horror of horrors:

"Evans, Lily!"

Lily stood up on wobbly knees and walked toward the Hat. She sat on a tall stool and the Sorting Hat was placed on her head.

It was a short exchange:

_Ah, Muggle-born, I see. Interesting, very interesting,_ said the Hat.

"Oh please, Mr. Hat, put me in a House where I'll feel like I belong!" pleaded Lily mentally.

And before she knew it, the Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" Cheers rose from the Gryffindor table. Lily stood up, surprised, but was even more surprised that she was…happy. She handed the Hat to the Professor and quickly flounced over to the Gryffindor table. She saw Severus, staring glumly in her direction. Lily gave him a remorseful smile, then sat at the table, feeling glad nonetheless.

* * *

"GRYFFINDOR!" cried out the Sorting Hat. James Potter jumped up from the stool in victory and swaggered to the Gryffindor table. He high-fived Sirius, fingers sore from crossing them so tight, and managed to squeeze in between him and the red-haired girl they met on the train. James heard her name during the Sorting and remembered that it was a name of a flower or something. She gave them both a little glare, obviously recognizing them, and turned around firmly. James grinned. It was a perfect day. He ate candy on the train, came to the best wizarding school in the world, and got sorted into Gryffindor. Less than an hour into his school career, he made one solid friend and two enemies. James sighed in contentment. "This is going to be a great year…"

**So how did you like that? Since I am not telepathic, ya gotta review! ;) Come back in 2-3 weeks for the next chapter. **

**~Love, mysterywings**


	2. Classes and Broomsticks

**Hi everyone! **

**Here's the update, as promised. :) Again: I do not own Harry Potter. But I _do _own Tullia Lin and Leto Nonlucet (two girls introduced in this chapter)**

**Thanks to all the reviews. But guess what? I found a way to be telepathic! To find out what you're thinking...without even talking to you...you can REVIEW! Isn't that amazing!**

**Anyway, enjoy! **

_**P.S. Anything in bold and italics are my extra notes in the story.**_

**Classes and Broomsticks**

Lily was lying on her bed, her head hanging over the edge. She was rereading her schedule for the millionth time.

Alice, her roommate, walked in the room and shook her head. "Stop worrying about it, Lils," she said.

"How can I not, Al? I never saw any subjects like this! I'm Muggle born, remember?"

"C'mon, now," said Alice. "What's so scary about Transfiguration? My older brother told me all about it! All that happens is that you get turned into a toothpick or something! The Professor can turn you back eventually!"

Lily paled even further. "A toothpick?" she asked weakly.

"What? You're afraid of turning into a stick of wood?" she asked, looking puzzled. Alice shrugged, deciding not to worry Lily any further.

Lily looked back at her schedule. "That's my first class! I don't know _anyone _who has Tranfiguration first!"

"I have it first," said a soft voice from the other side of the dorm. Lily and Alice both turned to face their other dorm mate, whose name was Tullia. She'd been so quiet during the past five minutes they forgot she was sitting crosslegged right on her bed, reading a book.

"That's good," Lily said, though she didn't know Tullia well. But she did recognize the book in her hands. _Oliver Twist. _Lily wondered if Tullia was Muggle born too. That would be such a relief…

But she couldn't think about it now. Because she just glanced at the silver watch her father gave her as a parting gift.

"Aah! Five minutes until class!" Lily shrieked. Even Tullia and Alice gave a start.

"Blimey, where's my new quill?" muttered Alice, hunting around the room.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh," whimpered Lily, close to hyperventilating. Tullia put a cool hand on her shoulder.

"Relax," the girl said simply.

Her calm, quiet voice did relax Lily a bit. For now. So together the two roomies found their way to Tranfiguration class. They were late, but so were many other students, as first years had a hard time navigating through the winding hallways of Hogwarts. A strict-looking teacher stood at the front of the room, her black hair hanging loose right above her shoulders. She had square spectacles and a prim, yet stern, expression.

Sitting next to Tullia, Lily now had a chance to get a good look at her roommate. Tullia had wavy hair that passed her shoulders. At first glance, it seemed jet black, but it was a dark copper-ish color when it caught the light. She wore oval glasses and was small for her age.

When the classroom was full, the Professor rapped her desk with a ruler for attention. "Welcome, students. I am Professor McGonagall, and it's my mission to teach you the most dangerous and complex magic taught in Hogwarts. Transfiguration is a key skill to get a satisfying career in the Wizarding world. I know you think that is far off, but it will come, I ensure you. It is a risky magic, and any one fooling around in here will be dismissed and will not come back."

She pointed her wand at a student doodling on their desk, and his quill poofed into white butterfly. The class "ooh"ed and "aah"ed.

"Open up _Beginnings in Transfiguration_," said McGonagall, walking to the chalkboard with a swish of her green robes. "We'll start on the history of Transfiguration…"

Sooner than Lily expected, class ended. _That wasn't so bad, _thought Lily, an extra spring in her step. McGonagall did seem strict, but clearly passionate about her subject. Plus, she was the Head of Gryffindor, which couldn't hurt. Tullia, walked alongside her, transfixed in her _Oliver Twist_. Lily opened her mouth to ask her about it when Tullia accidentally bumped hard into another student. "Oops! I'm sorry!" the girl said.

The first thing Lily noticed about the girl was her hair. It was black, blacker than Tullia's, but it had blonde streaks running through it like white rivers. It was very long. Lily never saw anything like it. "It's okay," said Lily brightly, as Tullia looked too mortified to speak. She stuck out a hand. "I'm Lily Evans."

"I'm Leto," the girl said, shaking her hand. Leto faced Tullia. "And who is the girl that I bumped into?"

"T-t-tullia Lin," Tullia replied shakily. It was only at that moment did Lily realize how shy she was.

"Well, sorry I bumped into you, _Tools_," said Leto. Lily and Tullia were both startled by this nickname. Then Lily smiled.

"_Tools. _I like it!" **_To clear up any confusion: Tullia's name is pronounced tool-ee-ah. That's why Leto nicknamed her "Tools". _**

Leto lightly punched Tullia's arm. "All right if I called you _Tools_, Tools?"

"Sure?" the shy girl said, as if it was a question.

"_Excelente__!"_Leto exclaimed.

"You speak Spanish?" inquired Tullia curiously.

"That was Spanish?" Leto asked. They all laughed. "What House are you in?" Leto asked suddenly.

"Gryffindor, us both," replied Lily.

"Me too! See you at lunch!"

And they did. Lily never attended such a magical lunch, if you'll excuse the pun. Leto was a riot, and she seemed to be the only one to be able to break _Tool's _shell. Alice was one of the nicest people Lily met. And Tullia had that calm, reserved aura and her thoughtful comments. In fact, Lily had such a good time that she almost forgot about Severus until Potions swung around. But that'll come later.

Headmaster Dumbledore was walking around the Hall, visiting the House tables to observe what was happening. Seeing Leto, he smiled and paused near her. "I see you made good comrades, Miss Nonlucet. I don't suppose you'd like to share a dorm with them?"

"Oh yes, Headmaster!" the girls pleaded.

His blue eyes twinkled. "Very well," he said. "They can help you move in tonight."

The girls squealed in excitement, then Lily asked, "You didn't get assigned to a room yet?"

Leto shook her head. "I had to check in with Madam Pomfrey last night. Um...my parents are concerned for my health. But now worries. I'm as healthy as a cup of tea!" _**Ugh. What a bad simile. **_

Lily gazed upward at the floating candles and swooping owls. Hogwarts was an amazing place. All her troubles seemed oceans and oceans away.

* * *

The next day, Lily had Flying Classes. She really did not know what to think. She always dreamed of flying – who hasn't? But, of course, the vision of falling off the broom fifty feet in the air and snapping your neck always was slightly sickening. In fact, while she walked to Flying Class, she felt slightly queasy. Severus, who also had Flying Class with her walked beside her, looked paler than ever and even had a bit of perspiration on his brow. He was not much help to Lily's nerves.

The class went out into the field. "Hello students," said Madam Hooch, the instructor. "I will be teaching you how to fly a broomstick this year, and if you're any good, you can try out for the team next year.

"Now, everyone go to a broom and stand on the left side of it."

"This is easy," Lily heard someone sneer. She glanced behind her to see the boy that teased Severus on the train. "My dad taught me how to fly when I was six years old! I am _so _making the team next year –"

"You're not going to get into any team if you stand dawdling, Potter!" Madam Hooch said, pointing a finger at James. "Hurry up!" He shrugged and walked over to a broom lazily.

Seeing all the students ready, Hooch continued. "Now, with the broom on the ground, put your right hand over it and say 'up!'"

Choruses of 'up's filled the air as brooms lifted themselves off the ground. The broom zoomed to James's hand immediately, and he held it up like a prize. Sirius, who was also in the class, also got the broom to rise on the first try. Other students weren't as successful. James looked around, bored, when his attention was caught by a glimpse of dark red hair. He heard:

"No, Severus, you might want to say it a little louder, it won't work if you mumble…don't worry, I didn't get it the first time either…"

James nudged his friend. "Oi. Oi Black –"

"Don't call me by my last name," snapped Sirius.

"Fine, fine. Sirius: it's those two from the train."

Sirius squinted in the direction James was pointing, and then grinned. "Those two! Snivellus and…Lilac?"

"Something like that," agreed James. "I have an idea –"

"I want you to try hovering in the air!" barked Hooch. "Shouldn't go more than three feet off the ground; remember, we need to go step by step…"

James easily mounted his broom and hovered, suspended, above the ground. It took every fiber of his being not to take off and zoom into the clear blue sky…

Hooch first helped the students who had trouble summoning their brooms, then helped a larger number to float above the ground without tipping or wobbling. When there was fifteen minutes left in the class, she looked around. The results were pretty satisfying. They already met the point where the other classes struggled to meet. After another moment of thought, she said, "Alright. I want you all to go very slowly when you take a shot at flying."

The students tittered with excitement. James noticed that Lilac girl turned pale, causing the freckles on her cheeks to stand out even more from her skin. "Quiet!" barked Hooch. She gave every student the Evil Eye. "Do not – I repeat, _do not_ – take off before I count down from three. Do you understand?" Nods from everyone. "All right. It's very simple, all you do is kick off with your feet. Don't be afraid. Don't go too high – the brooms get shaky."

"I have a Nimbus at home," bragged James.

"Silence! Alright: Three…"

_Oh no,_ thought Lily frantically. _What if I fall off? _

"Two…"

_No, _she thought fiercely. _You can't be afraid. You are a Gryffindor!_

_Finally, a chance to show off my skills, _thought James excitedly.

"ONE!"

And with a mighty kick, Lily was up in the air.

For a moment it was pure bliss; the wind on her face, the sun close above. Then her broom started to wobble and she was forced to concentrate on staying aloft. She heard a laugh from above.

"Look! Look at Snivellus!"

James and Sirius's ridiculing caught the attention of several other students, and soon they were all watching Severus, who was wrangling with his broom. He was not very high in the air at all, and the broom jerked and trembled beneath him like a bull in a rodeo, thought Lily had the notion that her peers didn't have the faintest idea what a rodeo was. His broom shook so violently even Lily had to bite her lip from laughing. Wanting to help, she tried to maneuver her broom downwards towards her friend. But flying downwards was not as easy as going up.

James watched her obvious struggle to descend to Snivellus. He had no idea what she saw in him. He was a know-it-all, couldn't fly a broom, and in _Slytherin_. James thought he himself would be someone worthy Lilac's attention…

Seeking to show off his skills, James shot downwards like a missile, not two feet away from Lily. His broomstick was nearly perpendicular to the ground. The students watching "oohed". The force of his swoop startled Lily and nearly knocked her off her broom. Luckily, she gripped the stick with both hands just in time.

Lily was appalled to see James, who was just seconds ago very high above her head, now five feet below. He was laughing at her. He just swooped down effortlessly while it'd take Lily five minutes to get the same result. Lily's mouth turned downwards in a slash of irritation. "You're going too fast," she retorted. "I almost fell off!"

James ascended his broom upwards so his eyes were level with hers. "Or maybe you're just going too slow," he grinned. He zoomed away so quickly, Lily's hair blew in the direction he was flying.

Spitting hair out of her mouth, she shakily flew to where James was hovering next to Sirius. "I don't see why you're acting the way you do!" she sniffed. "I don't even know your name!"

"Very well, Lilac. I am James David Potter, and this is my mate Sirius Black."

"It's Lily," she said hotly.

James shrugged. "Whatever," he said, though he thought the name was pretty.

"You get away from her," said Severus, who finally learned to maneuver his broom.

"Well, well, well," said Sirius. "If it isn't Snivellus!"

"It's Severus!" yelled Lily.

"That's what we said. Snivellus," replied James, his face a mask of seriousness.

Lily's blood was boiling. She had boy enemies in her muggle school, but they were not even close to how annoying _James_ was. He was…he was so…_ugh!_

"Argghhh!" cried a student. Madam Hooch looked in the direction of the shout to see a student stuck in a tree. She immediately jumped on her own broom to dislodge them. Authority out of sight, James and Sirius grinned.

"Hey Snivel," began Sirius.

"What?" Severus asked crossly.

"Think fast!"

On his broom, Sirius wizzed around Severus in a tight circle so quickly that when he zoomed off, Sev was quite dizzy.

"Haha! Lemme try!" said James. He first backed up and then started to fly very fast toward Snape. Lily was sure they'd collide, but before she could even shout, James swerved just in time and flew right above Snape's head. The force of the near impact turned Severus upside down on his broom, forcing the poor boy to hold on for dear life.

"Sev!" Lily cried out. She quickly flew to his aid. Once righting him upright on his broom, she turned back to James, eyes shooting daggers. "You could've killed him!" she scolded.

"I didn't though. Isn't that right, _Evans_?"

"The point is that you _nearly _hurt him. _Potter._"

James was surprised that his insult was thrown right back in his face. Then he sneered. "What do you see in him, anyway? Aren't I clearly more superior?" he boasted, flipping back off his windswept hair.

"Superiously _stupid_, yes," retorted Lily. Before he could say a comeback, Hooch blew a whistle down below.

"Class is over! Everyone come down slowly!"

Lily hovered near Sev. "You alright?"

His eyes were hard with hatred. "Those two are going to get it."

Shocked by his venomous statement, Lily remained silent. She also wondered what he would do to them. _Whatever it is, they deserve it, I suppose, _thought the girl.

**If you scroll up now I feel so sorry for you. 'Cause now it's time for *drum roll* the first _Chapter song! _**

**Curious? _Mystified? _Here's how it goes: after a chapter, I'll have a song posted here that somewhat follows the current story line. Sometimes finding a right song is hard, so if I can't think of any, I'll 1) give you a different juicy tidbit about my fic and 2) ask _you _what song I should've put but wasn't creative enought to think of!**

**I'm pretty bad at explaining things, but I'm sure we both will get it straight eventually. Explanation aside, Today's Chapter Song...**

**_What is this Feeling_ from the musical Wicked. Yes, Wicked fans, I can already hear your squealing. So go ahead. Go on youtube and get it stuck in your head. Learn all the lyrics. Go to the new poll I posted on my profile. And if you feel like it...you can always review. :D **

**I'll update soon. Oh, and don't expect too much JamesXLily right now. What did you expect? They would get married when they were twelve? Get real. They next chap will have Potions class, emotion, and overall _betterness. _I wish that was a word. **

**~Love, mysterywings. **


	3. Stand by You

**Chapter Song: I'll Stand By You (Glee Cast Version)**

_Flashback: _

James stood on the crowded Platform 9 ¾, his eyes fixated on the most gorgeous specimen he ever saw. She was sleek and shiny, fine hair perfectly arranged. A wild longing gripped James's heart. But, alas, someone already seemed to own her. And he seemed possessive. But still, James Potter could not get his eyes off the new Nimbus 360. It looked even better than his Nimbus 99 at home.

**Hi again, guys! Ha, I hoped I successfully tricked you into thinking that James just laid eyes on the lovely Lily. XD The name of the chapter is "Stand by you," which is the name of the chapter song. Alright. Please enjoy. **

James walked along the platform with his head twisted like an owl's to keep his gaze on the broom. This was not a good idea, as he promptly bumped into a willowy lady with midnight hair and heavy-lidded eyes. "Sorry," James mumbled, shaking the thoughts of the shining broom out of his head.

"Will you watch it?" the woman hissed. James soon recognized her as Bellatrix Black, who had recently turned into Mrs. Lestrange. He knew this because his family, being pureblood, was invited to her wedding. They had politely declined the invitation. Bellatrix swished her emerald robes and scoffed, "Hurry up, Sirius."

The small snort in reply was what James first heard of Sirius Black. "You're not the boss of me," sneered the boy.

"Come _on!_" scowled Lestrange, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him away.

James shook his head. "Blacks: stuck up weevils, every last one of them…" he muttered under his breath. Suddenly he winced; a shrill scream pierced the air - and his eardrums.

"_Sirius!_" The shriek was unnaturally loud, even for Bellatrix. "Sirius, I'll kill you for this!" Bellatrix barked. Her cousin laughed in response.

James looked back at the cousins to see Bellatrix's elegant robes transformed into a clown's suit, complete with gaudy makeup. James stifled a laugh…oh, who are we kidding, he was chortling as hard as Sirius was. Bellatrix, whose face was even redder with the clown's makeup, brought her hand up and slapped Sirius with a mighty _crack, _then walked as quickly as possible out of public's sight.

James carefully weaved through the crowd to Sirius, who was on the ground, rubbing his cheek. "All right?" Potter asked.

He looked up at him in surprise. "Sorry about my cousin," he mumbled.

"Her? I'm surprised you're related to her. Nice trick, by the way," James said, extending a hand to steady his new friend.

"Want to share a compartment?" the Black asked…

* * *

The Great Hall was lit warmly by candlelight. Their warm fire-glow seemed to smile at James as he sat at the Gryffindor Table. He could not remember a prouder moment. _Which is hard to say_, James thought, _since I'm such a spectacular person_.

"Looks like you've broken tradition!" James grinned at Sirius.

Sirius grinned back, then gestured to a boy beside him. "James, this is Remus."

Remus had light-brown hair that nearly met his pointed chin. He looked a little paler than he ought to be, but James immediately liked him. Seemed Sirius did too.

"Hello, Remus, mate! Good to be in Gryffindor, eh?" James asked.

Remus half-smiled and nodded once. "The best. Like my dad."

"Same here! Remus, welcome to the gang!" exclaimed James, giving him a pat on the back.

Remus smiled casually, but inside he couldn't be more surprised. Two boys who oozed potential popularity were welcoming him into their group with wide arms? It was the least thing he expected, for…_someone _like him…

_It's only because they don't know, _thought Lupin. And he was determined to keep it that way.

* * *

The bright sun glittered brilliantly on Black Lake. Its surface was as flat as glass, sometimes rippled by the wind and the occasional emergence of one of the Giant Squid's suctioned tentacle. It was the first Saturday of the new year at Hogwarts. Being an unusually warm September day, first-years camped around the lake under the shade of trees.

Remus, Sirius, and James swaggered into the scene. Correction: Remus and Sirius strode in like regular people while _James _swaggered. A perfect first week. He impressed his teachers, pulled satisfactory pranks, and already planted his status of popularity. He had his posse. Remus, the thinker. Sirius, his partner in crime. _And of course, there's the leader of the pack_, thought James smugly. Remus sat down near a tree and opened a book. Sirius chatted with James, and then to a few girls, who became red-faced and flirty under his good looks. James frowned slightly. He couldn't ask for better mates. But when they were distracted (by books or girls, for example), James felt uncomfortably alone. He needed someone to stick by his side like glue. Someone who was not quite so easily distracted…

Everyone froze as a mean-looking cult of sixth years arrived. They had sneers like hyenas. "Aww," cooed one mockingly. "Lookit all the wittle first years!"

Several shrunk back in caution as the cult pressed forward. James's lip curled in distaste as they passed. But he didn't dare pick a fight; he only just mastered _Expelliarmus. _The cult stopped at a short boy with mousy brown hair, who was stuffing his mouth with Bertie Bott's Jelly beans.

"Hey you," sneered one. "Care to share?"

The boy attempted to reply but only revealed his mouth filled with jellybean goop. Several cringed.

The largest of the older students grabbed him by the cuff of the neck. "Who taught you your manners, boy?" he growled.

"We ought to teach him some!" said another of the group.

"My pleasure!" the large one said, lifting a fist.

"Please…" whimpered the boy. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

Fury filled James like a water pitcher fills a glass. After a glance at Sirius, after a curt nod, they simultaneously stood and ran toward the group.

Unfortunately, the thug's knuckles already impacted the boy's cheek before they got there. But that didn't limit the satisfaction of tackling him hard to the ground.

_"OI!" _he screamed when James threw a punch. Sirius wrangled the one who held up the boy. The other three ruffians were slow to realize what was going on but eventually started to realize they should intervene.

Remus raced toward them, realizing they would pummel his friends. "I'll call a prefect!" Remus threatened, racing in front of the Slytherins about to join in with the fighting.

"Good," chuckled one. "They can dig the grave."

"I think not," sneered a prefect that James never saw before. They stopped dead. "An-Andromeda!" they stuttered.

"Can't believe this!" she scowled. "Picking on helpless first years! Where's Malfoy intervening in this?" Her eyes fell on James on top of a bruised Seventh-year. "Well," she smirked, "not so helpless, after all."

As she herded the guilty gang away, James hurried to the boy, who was curled in a ball. "You alright, mate?"

He sniffed. "I guess so."

"No need to be down," soothed James. Then: "I had it all under control."

"Really?" the mousy-haired boy asked, looking at James with glistening eyes.

"Of course," James boasted.

He sat up, wiping his face. By that time, Sirius and Remus came.

"Nice defending, Reme."

"Thank you," acknowledged Lupin. "Is he alright?"

"Seems fine," said James. "Say, what's your name?" asked Sirius kindly.

"Peter. Peter Pettigrew." **_Ooh, I bet you all just gasped in horror. :O_**

"Well Pete, we'd like to stick by you if those morons come by again."

"I'd like that."

"Would you like to eat with us in the Great Hall for supper?" offered Remus…

* * *

Leto, Alice, Tullia, and Lily were chatting in their rooms, candy wrappers spewed on the bed. Lily never had wizard candy before and was quite delighted by it. They were running out of things to say when Leto asked, "So what blood status are you guys?"

"Muggle born," said Lily.

"Well, I could've guessed by how loudly you screamed when your Chocolate Frog jumped out!" joked Alice. They had a good laugh, then Alice answered, "Pure-blood. But my parents aren't blood-crazy; it just happened that way."

Lily wondered what Alice meant by "blood-crazy." "Half-blood," said Tullia.

"Me too," nodded Leto. Lily suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Sev said that blood-status didn't matter," she blurted out.

Tullia, Leto, and Alice all hesitated. "Of course it doesn't, I was just curious," said Leto said finally. Tullia and Alice nodded in agreement vigorously.

Their conversation lasted in Lily's mind all day. Surely her friends weren't lying to her, were they?

* * *

**Later**

"Ah, if it isn't lovely Miss Evans!" exclaimed Professor Slughorn as Lily arrived at Potions.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor," said Lily, sitting down at her desk.

"Oh, nothing to worry about," gushed Slughorn. "Can't rush perfection, they say!"

Lily beamed. It was her uncanny knack for potions (and praise like this) that made Potions - and Slughorn - her favorite class and Professor. So she was no less than delighted when that very day she received an invitation that declared in fancy script:

**_Exclusive invitation to the Slug Club_**...

**October**

During the first Slug Club meeting Lily stuck close to Severus's side (which, of course, he didn't mind at all). Most of the students present were from Slytherin. Still, things went nicely enough, until the conversation topic took an unsettling topic – parents. Several of the students, Lily noted, had distinguished mothers or fathers – and what was she to say when Horace asked her:

"And who could possibly be the wonderful witch and wizard that raised _you, _my lovely Lily?"

Lily could feel many eyes staring at her. "Er, my parents are not wizards, Professor."

An awkward silence followed, which Slughorn eventually broke by apologizing for the misconception and changing the subject. But the stiffening of Severus by her side and the imploring gazes of the other students immediately becoming hostile were not missed.

* * *

After that first Slug Club meeting, Lily noticed that she was becoming constantly targeted for Slytherin mocking. It confused Lily more and more at each jibe – her perplexed expression making her an even bigger laughing stock - until one particular Slug Club meet, when Slughorn had praised Lily on a recent test. The result was dead silence from most of the students in the room. Once the meeting ended, Lily shakily rose to her feet and decided a nice nap in the Gryffindor dorm would soothe her, when she overheard a hooked-nose Slytherin ranting to his other green-clad friends.

"It's disgusting, the way Slughorn adores that red-head Gryffindor!" he hissed, very audible to Lily's ears. "It's almost as if she's one of _us, _the way he dotes on her!"

Lily knew she could stand this no longer. She quickened her pace to confront them.

"Excuse me," she said, loudly, to get their attention. The gang stopped, and the first thing one of them said was, "Oh look: the scum talks."

They laughed mockingly; Lily was too furious to respond. The one trashing on her just previously stuck his hooked nose at her. "Had a good time _devouring _all the attention Slughorn gives you?" he asked with false sweetness.

"Doesn't he know about her _blood_?" one of the Slytherins asked with disgust.

"Yes! It's the strangest thing, how he didn't kick her out, considering what she is."

"_What_ am I, exactly?" asked Lily bravely.

They laughed. "Do you want to know, scum? Would you really like to know? You're a _mudblood_."

"A...what?"

"Or 'muggle-born,' as those mudwallowers say. You're filth in this school. You don't belong here. Just wait till my father takes care of you...Oi! Running away, like you should, mudblood?" Lily _was_ running away. She'd heard enough. She didn't want them to see her tears. She kept running—running—running…and rammed hard into James Potter.

"Oi! Watch—" Then his voice changed completely when he recognized her. "Ah, Evans. I knew you couldn't resist me…"

Lily saw a tube of neon-green goo in his hand. "What's that?" she asked suspiciously. Then she glimpsed Sirius behind him with a similar tube, squeezing the contents into Snape's hair.

"What are you _doing_?" shrieked Lily.

Sirius shrugged. "We were bored."

"Bored? _Bored?_" Lily repeated, trembling. "Is this because…because he's friends with me? Because I'm m-m-muggle born?"

James did not know what to do when she started to sob. Neither did Sirius. "Do something!" his friend exclaimed.

So these were James's words of comfort: "Uhhhh…" She kept on crying. He was never so clueless in his life.

Luckily, Tullia was passing by. She stopped short. "What's going on?" she cried out, looking distressed.

"We…uh…"

Tullia leaned close to Lily and asked what was wrong. James could hear little, but caught the words "muggle-born."

When Tullia looked back up, her gaze was so angry James took several steps back. "You're making fun of her? Because she's muggle-born?" she demanded.

"No! I would never!" defended James.

Tullia led Lily slowly to the Portrait Hole, shooting glares at the boys. James was utterly flabbergasted. What in the bloody name of Merlin did _he _do?

* * *

Tullia held Lily as she sobbed. She let her cry for a while and supplied her with her own handkerchief. When the sobs subsided, the first thing Lily said was, "Blood status _does _matter, does it?"

"Tell me what happened, Lily."

So Lily told her the whole ordeal. After she finished, she wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands, sniffling. Tullia remained quiet for a while, then said softly, "We weren't lying when we told you blood-status doesn't matter. Leto told the truth. So did Severus."

"How could you say that?" Lily asked miserably. She plopped on her bed. "Those Slytherins were right. How could I – _possibly – _fit into the Wizarding World when I barely belong in Gryffindor? I don't even belong in Hogwarts!" She started to tear up again; then Tullia firmly told her to stop, so Lily did.

Tullia continued, more determined. "Blood-status _doesn't _matter. Only Slytherins think so! That's why weren't lying. Many great wizards and witches were muggle-born." She paused. "I don't know _why _your friend wanted you in Slytherin. They would've tortured you. But you're brave, I know that. Don't you see? That's why you _do _belong in Gryffindor!"

Lily was silent for a while. Tullia took her hand. "Don't let them get to you," she whispered. Lily noticed for the first time that her eyes were glistening. "The teachers love you. You're really good at magic. You are a true witch, through and through.

_Funny, _thought Lily. _If someone told me I was a witch a month ago, it would be offensive. _She smiled, though her lips trembled. What great friends she had. For the first time, Lily _knew, _without a lingering doubt, that she fit right in. In Gryffindor and in Hogwarts.

Lily sighed, suddenly feeling tired. Her eyes fell on Tullia's ever-present _Oliver Twist. _The familiar sight was what caused Lily to believe that Tullia, too, was muggle-born. "Tullia? I've always wondered: who gave you that _Oliver Twist_? It's a very nice book."

Tullia's voice cracked. "My mother." Lily thought that that was all she'd say - after all, Tullia was usually short-spoken: today's pep talk must've been rare. But then Tullia added, "She was a muggle, but my father loved her. They married right after he graduated."

"That's lovely," said Lily.

Swallowing, Tullia said, "Th-there were times when I was confused about my House, too. You see...my father wanted both of his daughters in Ravenclaw."

"Oh?"

"Yes. My older sister, Jade, is in it…but I got into Gryffindor…he was so disappointed after I wrote him the news."

"Oh," said Lily again. Then, warmly: "But if the Hat sorted me into the right house, it did the same for you. Don't worry, Tools!"

"Yes, but…" She covered her eyes with her hands. "M-my mother could make my father's anger go away…she always could…b-but she can't…not now...because…" - at this point, her shoulders started to shake - "she's dead!"

"Oh Tullia!" exclaimed Lily, distressed. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea!" She gave her a reassuring hug. "Well, you have me, Tools," said Lily firmly. "Alice and Leto, too."

Tullia sniffed and wiped her eyes on the bedsheet. "You're right, I s'pose. Time to move on and _forget _things, as my father would say." Tullia sighed. "What an eventful day. And now we're bonded by trauma!"

Lily laughed. "Trauma? I don't think that Slytherins picking on me is trauma. Forget about them."

"That's the spirit," smiled Tullia. Lily suddenly felt a pang of shame. She was never as close to Tullia as Alice or Leto. And here she was, comforting little old Lily when she had a death on her shoulders.

"I wish I took the time to know you better earlier," Lily lamented. "I - I could've done something!"

Tullia smiled sadly. "It's alright. I know I'm shy." Then, slyly, she added, "Not like Leto."

Lily let out a loud laugh at the mention of their rambunctious friend. She couldn't even _imagine _Leto being shy.

* * *

**Earlier**

"I don't get it," said James, still looking in the direction where Lily was carried off.

Sirius let out an uncommitable grunt; he was too busy squirting the glop into Snape's hair.

"I mean, what did I do?" asked James, his irritation growing.

"I don't know," answered Sirius, hoping his friend would shut up and get back to torturing Snape.

"That's right!" said James, irritation now evident. "I didn't do a thing! She's either a real cry baby or..." he trailed off, deep in thought. Sirius wondered, exasperatedly, when James would snap out of this ponderment. Snivellus was getting hard to hang by the hair. What was so interesting about that red-head?

"Didn't do a thing!" James muttered again. "How dare she accuse me of mocking her because she's a muggle-born! I would _never..._even to her!" Then, scornfully, he added, "Leave that to the Pure-blood obsessors!"

Now, Sirius couldn't tolerate _that. _"Oi!" he shouted. "Any help here? _Mate?"_

James was thinking too hard to hear him. Finally, he knew there was only one way to vent his confusion.

"Hey Sirius. Let me have a go at Snivellus, would you? You're hogging all the fun!"

Sirius thought he would never ask.

**There. Thought I'd end on a good note. ;) Now, for some announcements:**

**I had no idea how long these chapters would end up. I planned for Year 2 to start this chapter! To obey the wishes of people who don't want the fic to rush to the juicy stuff and the peeps on the edge of their seats, Year 2 will _definitely _start next chap. Just to let you know. **

**I mostly update on every other Tuesdays. Or every third Tuesdays. :) Sorry I can't update sooner! **

**Oh, and great thanks to laurenbaboran, who was a reviewer of my last chapter. And my _ONLY_ reviewer for my last chapter. Hey guys, you never know: I might update sooner if people actually give me feedback. Imagine if only one person reviewed _your _fic. See, that's why we need great people like _laurenbaboran_. Now imagine YOUR name in italics, on my fic! :D**

**I am extremely grateful for the people who favorited, asked for alerts, and/or REVIEWED. Remember, reviewing is the best form of telepathy! xD. Yes, you'll always hear that joke from me.  
**  
**~mysterywings**


	4. Some Things Never Change

**Dear readers: **

**I am very well aware of the date. It's been over five weeks. Last chapter I said I would update in _three weeks _on a _Tuesday_. As an author, I have totally misled you!**

**Apology time: I apologize. *tears* But I'll let you know, this has got to be the hardest chapter I've ever tackled. It was going to be even longer, too. Plus, as I'm sure you've all experienced, I had some computer difficulties uploading my new chapter. **

**Surprisingly, the only way I can intercept your forgiveness is by the best form of telepathy: reviewing. XD hahaha! **

**...A fifteen minute long laugh later...**

**Aw man, I totally killed it that time. Enough of these jokes! Time for some announcements! Like I said last chappie, I would post the names of whoever used the best form of telepathy. As promised, they are in _italics. _**

_**isabel in lala land**_

_**Anti-Banana19 **_

**_inluvwitheverythingpotters_**

**Thanks a bunch for reviewing! *Throws a bunch of bananas at reviewers* Now: scold me however you want, there's no chapter song for this one. There is, however, not one, but TWO juicy behind the scenes info about the fic that can't be accessed elsewhere. Why? Because they're all in my head! Mwa hah a haa! If you have an idea for a song that would fit nicely with the chapter, just give me a PM or review. I'd appreciate it! **

**Well. :) I do not own Harry Potter, and not even Concepta Blanche. (You'll see down below.) Well...I invented her last name on this fic, so i guess I half-own her, but don't tell anyone I said that. Ta-ta, and happy reading! _As always, words in bold AND the lovely italics are my comments on the fic unless noted otherwise. _**

**Some things never change**_ Chap 4._

The rest of that first year passed in a flap of an owl's wing, and it seemed in no time that Lily was standing once more on Platform 9 ¾, baggage in hand, waiting for the new year ahead of her.

As she watched smoke curl out of the shiny scarlet train, Lily grinned at the thought of seeing her friends again. Soon she'd hear Alice, calling her over to a compartment. Inside Lily would find Tullia, Leto, and the rest of the gang. She couldn't wait…

"Lily!" someone shouted. The redhead turned to see Severus running towards her, black sleeves flapping like a little bat.

"Hey Sev!" called back Lily. His face lit up at her voice.

"Look, Lily! A new owl!" said Severus, holding up a rusty cage.

"Woah!" Lily crouched down to observe the little bird. One could almost mistake it for a starling, with its black-and-white-speckled feathers. Severus looked overjoyed to see her; he bubbled over with excited words of the new year. Then something strange happened.

"Mum and Dad didn't even fight as much this summer, Lily! And I hope we can have more classes together…that'd be great—"

"Um…Sev?" asked Lily weakly, staring at his skin. It was slowly turning into a neon shade of violet.

Severus saw the transformation just in time for students to spot him and laugh. "Wh-what's going on?" said the boy. Lily was thinking the same thing. Suddenly they were interrupted by laughter nearby. "Like your new complexion, Snivellus?"

The Marauders appeared behind Severus out of nowhere, with James holding a cloak of some sort. Before Lily could shout a warning, they attacked from behind and stuck a **Hex Me **sign on his back, along with a hard shove.

"Ow!" shouted Severus, falling flat on his face.

"Some things never change," muttered Lily, drawing her wand. "_POTTER!" _

**Later**

James emerged from the bathroom and walked back to the Gryffindor table, shooting dirty looks at Lily Evans the whole time. She returned his glares with a completely innocent gaze. Muttering under his breath, James plopped down next to his friends. "No need to feel so down, mate," remarked Sirius, exposing the mashed potato he was chewing in his mouth. "So you got creamed by a girl. So what if she hexed you halfway across the train? So what if she made Chocolate Frog guts explode in your face? Doesn't hurt your reputation or anything."

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated," replied James icily. James wondered why his scalp was suddenly so itchy. Now that he thought of it, Evans _did _direct a hex to his hair…

Headmaster Dumbledore stood. Hush immediately blanketed the students, and Dumbledore raised a hand to speak.

"Students, of new and old: I welcome you to Hogwarts." Applause erupted around the Hall. "Yes, yes, very good," said the old man, smiling. "Well, I have many announcements to make, but we must not neglect the first and foremost task: the Sorting!" He revealed the Hat, and McGonagall started to call out names. The Marauders watched with mild interest.

"Ah, Sorting," declared Sirius. "Was it really just a year ago when _I_ was anxiously waiting while shooting spitballs at Slytherins?"

"Yes," answered Peter.

"It was a rhetorical question, Pete."

"What's that?"

"Ask Remus, he'd be the best to tell," said James, rubbing the top of his head. "Oh Divine Dictionary we call Remus, please define 'rhetorical' for our poor, naïve Peter!" James turned to his friend. Suddenly James was concerned for his friend. Remus looked terrible. He mumbled something about a question that didn't expect an answer and returned to picking at his food.

"Feeling alright, Reme?" asked James worriedly, scratching his head.

The boy looked at him with a sense of alarm. "What? Oh… of course…"

"I believe the Hat has chosen well, and I hope you all agree," Dumbledore said, before James could question further. "And now to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher…"

All the students leaned forwards in their seats. Last year's teacher, a painfully dull man, had to leave for unknown reasons. "My students, this year you will be taught by a highly acclaimed teacher: Professor Pereguinn." Everyone clapped while craning their necks to spot the new professor. A tall man with a beak-like nose and brown hair stood up, surveying the sea of students. He curtly said, "Thank you," and sat down.

"Did you get a good look at him, Seer?" asked James to Sirius.

Black snorted. "Of course. Rather severe looking, if you ask me…" Sirius glanced at James and fell out of his chair laughing.

"What?" demanded James. "_What?_"

Silently, Remus extended his arm and reached for something on James's head. He plucked it off with a painful sting. "Ouch!" complained James. In Remus' fingers was a pink pansy. James couldn't believe it. A flower. She planted a stinkin' flower on his head!

"_EVANS!" _

* * *

James was becoming worried about Remus. Every day he got paler, quieter, and more exhausted. But this wasn't the first time. Oh no. James noticed the previous year how sickly his friend was. But now it was becoming more than just a little concerning.

During Divination James whispered to Sirius, "Mate, have you noticed Remus is sick, like, a lot?"

Sirius' brow furrowed. "I have."

"Tell Pete to join us in the dorm right after dinner. Remus will have Transfiguration then."

So the three Marauders met at the appointed time. They gathered on the floor uneasily and quiet. They weren't quite sure what to say.

Sirius spoke first. "He's always been a sickly guy. It seems like it's the same symptoms each time."

"Good observation," James nodded.

"Don't you become immune to sickness after you get it once?" asked Peter.

"Exactly," said James. "So why is the sickness the same every time?"

Troubled silence. None of the trio wanted to believe that Remus was hiding something from them. It was just not part of the Marauder code. "I bet he has a disease?" said Sirius in a question tone. "A malady?"

"I don't know any maladies like the one Remus has. Maybe it's time we head to the library."

Sirius scowled. "The library? James, Quidditch tryouts are this Sunday!"

James rubbed his eyes. "I know. I had no idea second year would be so busy." He thought for a moment and then said, "Perhaps you can find a couple of books for us, Pete."

"Of course," the boy replied.

"In the meantime…" Sirius said, "Is there any other pattern? Besides the symptoms?"

The boys thought hard. "Well," said James slowly, "it's not as if Remus gets sick at _random_ times. I'd say that he gets ill…monthly."

"Monthly?" repeated Sirius. He suddenly looked uncomfortable. "You don't think…that maybe…"

"What?" asked James, who had no sisters.

The Black swallowed. "You know what girls do every month, don't you?"

What followed were sounds of shock, denial, horror, and retching. "Eww! No! Just no!" shouted James. Peter shook his head hard in refusal. _**Sorry to you boys. I just had to add that. XD**_

Sirius shrugged. "Hey, how can you blame me, with the billion girl cousins in my family. Trust me, they talk about tons of other girl stuff"—more retching noises from James and Peter—"but I'm just throwing out some ideas!"

"Yes, very much appreciated," said James, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Sorry."

"Shhh! Here he comes!" The boys scattered to casual places in the dorm and held their breath as the doorknob turned. Remus (for of course it was he) came in and trudged to his usual homework spot.

Silence was held. "Hello to you too," Sirius said sarcastically. Silence was broken.

"Sorry," said the boy, rubbing his eyes. "Just tired."

"Your illness, of course," said James casually. "We always wondered what it was, exactly."  
Poor Lupin found himself pinned to three suspicious looks. "Cold," he said, even providing a fake sniffle. It was always his excuse.

"Oh, yeah," said James. This was going to be harder than he thought.

The next evening James and Sirius went to the Quidditch locker room to an information session. There they'd meet the team Captain and sign up for try-outs. James was arrogant and cool throughout the whole thing, impressing the older students. He even amused the team Captain with one of his (what James thought) brilliant jokes.

The Captain was what really surprised James. Potter expected the Captain to be a big brawny boy. Not Concepta Blanche.

Concepta was a relatively small girl with silvery-blonde hair that was tied in a long ponytail. She stood before the team hopefuls, analyzing them with a careful eye. "All right, everyone," she said when everyone arrived. "I am Concepta, fifth year Seeker, and you're captain for team Gryffindor this year."

Fifth year. James was amazed. She seemed petite enough to be in third. _A good trait for a Seeker_, James supposed.

"…Now, let's get all your names down on the sign up sheet." A clipboard floated up and down the rows of students as Concepta explained the virtues and expectations on the team. Finally, she thanked them all for attending. Thus the meeting was over.

Sirius and James followed the throng of students out of the door. "I am **so **making the team," said James, making sure everyone in the near proximity could hear.

"You got that right, mate," said Sirius.

A couple of students (_***cough cough*, girls) **_flocked around the boys. "Really?" they asked, awed by his obvious confidence. "You think you can?"

"You bet I can," grinned James. "A piece of cake, really. I started playing since I was four."

"Ah, Potter. Will I ever hear your big mouth _not _spouting some boast?" James turned. Evans stood behind him, a hand on her hip.

"Not a boast, Evans," replied James. "But solid-hard fact."

"I'd like to be there when you're proven wrong, Potter_," _said Lily airily. "It might deflate that big fat head of yours."

Even more students came to watch the fight-off, intrigued. "_When_ I'm proven wrong, Evans? _When?_ Why, that's just mean."

"_If _you're proven wrong. Of course, if."

James smirked. "I, equally, would be excited to see when - excuse me, if_ - _**you **find out you're wrong. Let's bet on it."

"I don't bet," said Lily in a voice that could almost be described as detached. But her green eyes said different, her gaze as sharp as a knife. Distracting, those eyes were.

"No need to worry," said James gallantly, miming a bow. "They'll be nothing asked for of this bet except glory. Sweet, sweet glory."

Lily tilted her head to one side, thoughtful. "If you get in the Quidditch team, you win; if you don't, I do. For pride," she mused aloud. "I'll take it." And so they shook.

**Five minutes later**

"What kind of gall does that girl have, to agree to that kind of bet against me?" asked James to Sirius as they entered the Portrait Hole.

"Dunno," said Sirius, grinning slightly. "A lot."

"Shut up, you. Why must you and Peter turn everything into a lesson in rhetorical questions?" **_Yay for rhetorical questions! _**James grabbed the doorknob to their dorm and turned.

_**"AHAA!" **_a loud voice shrieked when James opened the door.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" screamed James and Sirius, gripping each other in fright.

"Thank god you're here!" said Peter, oblivious to their near heart-attack. "Remus! He _is_ holding back something!"

"What happened?" demanded Sirius.

Peter ushered them away from the door, mousy eyes gleaming. "Okay, okay. So: after you guys were gone, Reme told me that he was going to the Owlery. But I was a little sus-sups-susp..."

"Suspicious?" suggested James.

But I wanted to see where he was really going so I got the Cloak.

"I figured I'd only follow him a little way…but he wasn't going to the Owlery at all! He was going down to the first floor!"

"But the Owlery's two floors up," mused James aloud, astonished.

"Exactly. So I just kept followin' him…and he goes to Pomfrey's!"

"Pomfrey!" exclaimed both James and Sirius. "Did you hear anything?" asked Sirius anxiously.

Peter shook his head. "Door was thick…and I couldn't remember the spell from Charms. So I headed back. Didn't want him to get suspicious and all that."

James was amazed. He never knew his friend was so sneaky.**_ (Sigh.) _**"Remus is definitely hiding from us. Why'd he lie about going to the infirmary just for a harmless 'cold?' If we can get to Pomfrey, we can get our answer about Reme!"

* * *

Immediately after rising the next day, the Marauders, excluding Remus, pounded on Madam Pomfrey's door. The infirmary was not yet open, so the nurse opened the door with a disapproving frown. "Heavens! Why must you bang the door so?"

"Madam Pomfrey," said Sirius, "It's an emergency. A private one."

"All right, come in, all of you." The nurse opened the door wider, and the three filed inside.

"Well? What do you want?" asked Pomfrey, while mixing elixirs.

James leaned forward. "Madam, we have some questions about our friend, Remus Lupin."

Her busy hands froze. "Lupin? Oh yes, him. What about him?"

"We need to know why he is always so sick. We're his best friends!"

Pomfrey got up to store some bottles of medicine in a cabinet. Or perhaps she just wanted to have her back turned to the curious crew. "There's no need to - to worry about it. Students fall ill. Some more than others. I appreciate your concern, but as the school nurse, I assure you that Remus is under the best of my care."

"Then why does he _always _keep getting the same sickness?" asked Peter abruptly.

The nurse looked taken aback. "Excuse me? I'm under the impression that you doubt my abilities, young man!"

"Of course not," said James, hoping to smooth the tension Peter rose. "We're simply worried. We'd like some more insight on our friend, though."

Pomfrey shook her head. "That's quite enough. One's well-being ought to be kept to himself, by right. Shoo! Shoo, all of you!" She hurried the boys out of the infirmary and shut the door a little louder than necessary.

"Well, we got absolutely nothing at all from that experience," noted Sirius blatantly.

"Shut up!" snapped Potter. He was frustrated. Usually after a little sweet-talking (or none at all), James got what he wanted. Not this time. But sure as hell he was determined to find out what was stubbornly out of his way. "We won't give up," declared the boy.

"Hey mates," said a voice so tired that James nearly didn't recognize it. "What're you doing here?"

James turned to look at Remus. Then stare. His friend looked as if he was at death's door. Heavy limbs. Dark circles under his eyes. And brutally pale.

"In the good name of Merlin, Remus! What is wrong with you?" asked James exasperatedly.

Several emotions flickered past of Remus' face. Surprise, for one. A bit of confusion, too. But there was fear. So much fear. James desperately wanted to know what was ailing Remus, but all the boy said was: "Wrong? Nothing is wrong."

* * *

But for the rest of the day, everything was wrong. Remus' gaze looked distant. He ate and spoke little. He deined all inquiries of sickness. But when darkness blanketed the great castle, a look of enormous dread was etched in his every feature. James, as well, felt sick just looking at him. A heaviness in his stomach. A faster beating of the heart. A slight jumpiness. But an enormous guilt, too. Had this always happened the year previous? Why didn't James notice? _How could he not notice?_

Because of this, James had trouble sleeping, wondering what in the world could be wrong with his friend. But sleep he did. It must've been 11:30 when James heard a noise outside their dorm.

James's heavy eyelids opened to see the room unnaturally bright. He lifted his tired neck and looked at the window, where the moon was a perfectly round lantern in the sky. Its moonlight spilled over onto the floor of the room. Suddenly, the doorknob turned. James, too exhausted to be alarmed, gazed confusedly (convinced that it was a dream) as the door opened, revealing the dark silhouette of a woman—an orb of light gleaming on her wand tip.

The woman quietly shuffled over to Remus's bed. She shook his sleeping form. "Remus…Remus!"

Remus whimpered. He was not asleep, after all.

"Remus! Why didn't you come down to my office? We need to get down to the Willow as soon as possible!"

"I don't want to go," whispered Lupin. A shard of moonlight helped James see Lupin's features. He was surprised to see Remus's forehead shiny with sweat.

The woman's scolding voice turned gentle. "I know it's painful, dear. But you must. You are such a brave soul."

Remus muffled his sob in his pillow, but he let her lift him out of bed.

James knew he had to act. Who knew what this woman was up to. He tried to shout, but his tongue was drier than an old owl pellet. Then James sat up in bed, determined to follow them despite his exhaustion.

The woman gave a start when she saw James awake. She drew her black wand and flicked it in his direction. Immediately, even more heavy drowsiness enveloped James like soft blankets. James valiantly tried to fight it, but soon the thought of a pillow seemed like the biggest luxury in the world. _Oh well, _thought James. _Perhaps it was all a dream, anyway…_

* * *

James woke up with a jolt. Sunlight streamed softly from the window. Peter and Sirius still snored in their beds. James usually felt groggy in the morning, but today he felt alert and refreshed.

_Probably because of that spell that lady put on me last night, _he thought. He leaped out of bed and tore back the blankets from Remus' bunk. Empty.

**Minutes Later**

Storming into the Great Hall, even James could sense the metaphorical thunderclouds floating around his head. He was bloody mad. No more Mr. Passive Potter anymore. James was fully prepared to _shake _Remus by the collar until the boy spilled the truth. He wanted answers…

And there Reme was. Sitting at the Gryffindor Table; the back of his head visible to James. James quickened his pace. "Aha!" shouted James triumphantly, grabbing Remus by the shoulders. "You better explain why you're always so—!"

James's last word, "sick," stuck in his throat. Because when Remus turned around to face James, he looked as if he was never fallen ill in his life.

Remus nearly glowed with a healthy luster, and his eyes had a spark in them that had been absent for so many days. "Oh! Hello, James. You're not usually up this early," said Remus almost cheerily, chewing on some pancakes

Numb with shock, James replied, "You…you usually aren't either."

Remus' gaze wandered toward Madam Pomfrey sitting with the rest of the teachers eating breakfast. "Oh, well…I couldn't sleep much last night, so I thought I'd come down here early."

James's mind raced. How could this be? _Everything last night was a dream, _the spell cast over James the previous night whispered. But James refused to believe it. The only dreams he had about his friends were about them torturing Snape. Anyway: "I see you're feeling better," said James, hoping for hints.

"I am," replied Remus in measured tones. "Whatever Madam Pomfrey gives me always works wonders."

"I see," said James, skeptical. Finally, he sat down to breakfast.

Fifteen minutes later, Sirius and Peter arrived. They were stunned by Remus's transformation too, but said nothing about it. All in all, the rest of breakfast passed uneventfully until a quarter to eight.

"Well, time for Herbology," pointed out Remus.

James groaned inwardly. He excelled in all subjects but two. Potions and Herbology. James wasn't spectacular in the latter because he simply wasn't in to it. Herbology was mostly lectures and notes. Still, he stood from the table with the other Marauders and headed towards the class.

"All right students," announced Pomona Sprout. Sprout was young, and it was only her third year at Hogwarts. She looked even younger with her short height. "Today we'll be moving to the greenhouses where I'll be teaching you the fundamentals. Then we will finally get started on our hands-on curriculum!"

"What?" cried James. "No more lectures? No notes?"

"I believe last year I explained that the curriculum moved to hands-on during the second year and after. Or were you too busy tormenting Severus Snape –_during class—_last year to remember?" said Pomfrey, giving him a stern look.

James danced a jig toward his friends. "Can you believe it? Hands-on for the rest of our school careers! Imagine all the botanical mischief we could do!"

"That might not be a good idea, James. Our ignorance of some of these plants could be dangerous to play around with," said Remus.

Sprout led students to the greenhouse, enchanting crates of supplies in the air to follow the class of students through the halls. They finally stopped at a frosted-glass door.

"Hogwarts greenhouses are very versatile," said Pomfrey as she took out a ring of keys. "They can cultivate specimens from Donnaga Root to Whomping Willows." The Professor chuckled, as if remembering fond memories. "Of course, the Willows can only live in the greenhouses in their very _small _stages."

She finally opened the door, and the class filed inside. Except for James, who stood, perplexed. _Whomping Willow…_didn't the woman last night say something about a Willow?

"All right, James?" asked Sprout, giving him a searching look.

James shook out of his daze. "Professor, is there a Whomping Willow on campus?"

"Why, yes, I grew it myself at the start of my career here. Protection reasons. Why?"

"Oh, no reason in particular," replied James breezily, walking into the greenhouse.

She rose a skeptical brow. "The Willow is one of the many things in Hogwarts not to meddle with, Mr. Potter. I suggest you keep out of trouble, young man."

"Of course, Professor," said James sincerely. Talking to teachers was so easy with your fingers crossed behind one's back.

* * *

Professor Pereguinn was brilliant, reserved, and organized. However, he was a strict teacher. Sirius and James had too many close calls with detentions to keep count. Luckily, they were both excellent students in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Still, the Marauders were plotting. It was time for the Professor's first taste of a prank. **_Good old Mr. P: More with him next chappie. _**

James and his co-captain crept by Pereguinn's door. Under his father's cloak, they were both completely invisible. The cloak was the best of James's possessions. He wouldn't give the Cloak up for the best prank kit in the world.

It would be best not to give a detailed report of exactly what James and Sirius were planning. Let's just say it involved several stink bombs, a family of a dozen pigeons, balloons filled with enchanted glop, exploding bombs, trip wire, duct tape, a bucket of pink dye, and—worst of all—a permanent marker (perfect for drawing curly mustaches, of course).

Fortunately for Pereguinn, the two troublemakers stopped short at the door of his classroom. "There's someone in there!" mouthed Sirius to James. "Dumbledore!"

James took out an extendable ear (also part of the prank pack) and slipped it between a crack below the door. Words immediately flowed into the boys' ears:

"I just find the student's behavior odd, Headmaster," said Pereguinn. "He finishes all the assignments perfectly but frequently looks as if he's digging his own grave!"

"Remus Lupin," began Dumbledore, giving the boys a start, "is a victim to a terrible affliction that should never be placed upon such an innocent young boy. I'm not sure how you'd feel about him if I told you, Professor, which is why I feel hesitant to tell you."

"You doubt me?" growled the Professor.

"One cannot be too careful these days—" Dumbledore started to protest.

"I only worry about the student! All of them. As a teacher, it's my responsibility to make sure the students are well. I have rights to know what ails the boy!"

A sigh. "Very well." There was a deafening _pop, _and the Extendable Ear blasted out of its crevice, making James and Sirius's ears hurt awfully.

"Imperturbable Charm," groaned James. "We can't eavesdrop."

Sirius folded his hands into fists. "Dash it. We would've found out was wrong with Remus, didn't we? Now we _know _something's up."

"We need to ask Pereguinn," James said. And so they waited for about ten minutes until, finally, Dumbledore swept out of the classroom in his midnight-blue robes. The boys tumbled, invisible, into the classroom. Mr. Pereguinn's back was turned, arranging dusty books on a shelf.

James hurriedly took off the cloak and stuffed it in his pocket. "Sir!"

The Professor turned, alarmed. "Dear lord, you came in like Peeves, only quietly. What do you want?"

"We need to know about our ill friend, Remus," asserted Sirius.

Pereguinn's back stiffened. Up close, James could tell that whatever Dumbledore told him had jarred the man. "Remus? You were eavesdropping. Why, you little twits!"

"We are his best friends," protested James. Then, choosing his words carefully: "We have rights to know what ails him."

Pereguinn's mouth twitched downwards. "Well I can't," he said. "Dumbledore forbids me from letting such serious matters escape into the student body, and when he means business, he means business." He glanced out of the classroom door and walked briskly to his desk, scribbling out a note. "As you should know, eavesdropping about adult matters will result in a detention. Tomorrow." The Professor held out the detention pass.

"But sir—!"

"You'll have plenty of time to discuss this during detention, Mr. Potter," he said icily. Then he shooed them out of the classroom.

"Another botched attempt," Sirius scowled, as the door slammed.

"We don't need him," said James pompously. "What have you found from the library?"

"What we always got: nothing."

James sucked his teeth in annoyance. They were nowhere near finding out Remus's problem, and there was no way they could force it out of him. James also was clueless about the woman he saw several nights ago; James was convinced more and more each day that the mysterious event was just a dream.

What the bloody hell was wrong with the boy?

* * *

James experienced detention before. It was not so bad; in fact, the first couple of detentions survived were like badges of honor. Still, it stank. Especially if it was for a noble cause.

The boys trudged to the room. Pereguinn stood by the door, waiting for them. "You two will be cleaning ink pots today," he declared. "Then you will organize my books in alphabetical order. Of course, you should arrange the books first so the ink won't dirty them."

James and Sirius glanced at each other; the Black gave an almost imperceptible nod. They had worse. The pair set to work. There were however, many books. James eventually resorted to just glancing at the author's last name and placing it in its correct place to finish the chore before the hour was up. He picked up a dust-gray tome (by Rowley Mandible) and started to place it with the other "m"s when Professor Pereguinn gave a slight cough behind him.

James did not turn. "That is a very good book," Pereguinn said.

Seriously? "Mhm," said James in his lengthy reply. **_Ah, I love it when I write things like that. _**

"_Very_ interesting," said the Professor again.

This time James faced him and gave him a medicine-sweet smile. "I'm sure," James enunciated. Then he turned back to the bookshelf.

James heard Pereguinn say the same thing on Sirius half an hour later about the same book. Dozens of ink bottles and heavy books later, detention was over.

"See you tomorrow, Professor," the boys chorused as they started to leave.

"Wait a moment, please." The teacher stood from his desk, plucked a book off a shelf, and handed it to the boys. "Here. I sincerely **insist** that you read it." James took the dusty book and, for the first time, noticed its title. _Brutal Bites and its Symptoms: by Rowley Mandible. _

Hmm…

* * *

Potter stood next to Sirius, Nimbus in hand. A warm breeze rippled through the grass on the Quidditch field. James oozed confidence. He could do this. The glory only earned from Quidditch team was his.

Sirius squirmed uncomfortably. "I - I don't think she'll assign me Beater..."

"Merlin's socks," retorted James. "Not giving you Beater is almost as crazy as leaving _me _out of the Chaser spot!"

"Let's get started," announced Concepta. A group of boys clad in Gryffindor robes immediately raised into the air. "We will test Keepers first. These five Beaters will test whoever wants the spot." She made a vague gesture to a couple of students in line. "Up!"

So the Keepers were tested. Concepta looked thoughtful, then pointed to a burly student, Vetch York, who did keenly well. He absolutely beamed. Concepta shouted, "All right. Beaters!"

Sirius mounted his broom and shot into the air. Concepta undid the golden clasps of a large suitcase and released two Bludgers into the air with a _woosh_. "They'll need opponents," noted the Captain to herself as James watched Sirius successfully block Bludgers with his bat. Suddenly, five broomsticks rose from the pile behind Concepta and crude models of Slytherins appeared on them.

James was impressed by Sirius's game. He whacked Bludgers at the "Slytherins" with loud _crack_s.

Concepta called the students down and reported that she'd announce who'd get in later. She cast an analyzing look towards Sirius. He stood beside James once more, breathing steadily.

"You did well," commented James with a grin.

"Yeah, pretended all the dummies were my brother."

"Chasers!" called Concepta.

James, among with other students, gathered around her. "Shall I test them?" asked the newly selected Keeper.

"No," said Concepta, grabbing a helmet. "I am."

James almost laughed. The Captain looked as if a single Bludger would knock her to the ground. She flew up to the goal hoops and gestured for the Chasers to follow. James lifted into the air. "All right," said Blanche. "Just try to get the hoops. Begin!"

Her look was fierce as she blocked every Quaffle James flung at her. Frustrated, James noticed that she was too petite to block more than one hoop at a time. When she lunged for a Quaffle directed at the rightmost hoop, James threw his ball at the leftmost one with all of his strength. Her hand almost reached it, but the Quaffle successfully slipped through the ring.

After a while, Concepta descended toward the field. The Chasers followed. James did a loop-dee-loop on his broom, showing off.

"You're a great Keeper, Concepta!" exclaimed the new Keeper, when everyone touched down. "What am I doing here, with you around?"

"Lucky for you, I'm a Seeker," smiled the Captain. She faced the team again and said, "I'll announce the Chasers and Beaters tomorrow. Very well done, all of you."

Tomorrow. James couldn't wait.

**The next day**

James raced through the hallways, eyes ablaze. The list of who made the Quidditch team were to be pinned on Concepta's door. Now. This exact moment it was hung there. He was running like a maniac, to that list. His brain was glued to THE LIST all day. If only his eyeballs were that close to it.

James's legs couldn't carry him fast enough. He was flying past doors, nimbly dodging students. It was much like avoiding Bludgers. And now the ceiling disappeared, and James was on his broom, hair blowing back, his hands reaching for THE LIST…

James skidded to a stop at Concepta's door, breaking out of his daydream. He didn't notice his friends trying to catch up. He read the names under the heading CHASERS and all the blood rushed to his head…

**One hour later, lunch.**

Lily chatted amiably with Alice when noise erupted all around the Gryffindor Table. There were "wow"s and cheers and congrats. "What's going on?" she asked Alice. Alice shook her head. She did not know.

Lily's curious demeanor immediately sank into a scowl. Here came Potter, being lavished with praise and (especially) girls. "Why, hello Evans," bragged Potter when he reached her seat. "I suppose you want to hear the news?"

"I never asked anything of the sort," frowned Lily. She suddenly smiled. "Unless the bet is over, that is. Well, Potter? Where's my glory?"

James paused dramatically. He was going to love the next moment so much. "For your information, Evans, I got a Chaser spot on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

The girls around him "ooh"ed as if it was the first time they heard the news. For Lily, it _was _the first time. "What?" croaked Lily in disbelief. "Chaser?"

"That's what I said. Must I repeat myself?" said James smugly.

Lily regained her composure. "I know you'd love to, Potter. Leave it to you for being such a humble guy."

"Compliments are not necessary, Evans," James replied, tipping an invisible hat to her direction.

"Ergh!" Lily cried in frustration. "Just leave your bragging mouth to yourself. That bet changed nothing. This...this _Quidditch thing_ changes nothing! _Nothing!" _James laughed and walked away. He knew just as well as Lily that this changed _everything. _Their rivalry had tipped dramatically in James's favor. He had success, fame, and glory while Lily was just the good student. She watched, with a huff, as he accepted many compliments in his haughty mien. _Potter better be a damn good player for the team,_ thought Lily. Otherwise she just may hex him again…

**And that's the end. Of the chapter, I mean. Heh. Yes, not much Evans, but more of that next time. By the way, I realize just how bad chapter two really was. I might revisit that sometime. Keep your eyes peeled! **

**Okay, juicy secrets time: **

**Secret 1) I swear that this was totally unintentional, but I uploaded this fic on January 25th. EXACTLY a month before, on December 25th, I put up my first fic! Ha! Like I said, totally didn't mean it. I decided that whenever I would make a new fic I would post it on the 25th. Cool, huh? Btw, my first fic is about the Sisters Grimm series! So if you're a fan of that, go ahead and check it out!**

**Secret 2) Leto Nonlucet. A relatively behind-the-scenes kind of character right now. She has an entire history, as well as secrets. She was based on one of my school friends, though obviously I don't know anyone with black and white hair. Things will get more exciting for Leto in this fic. She has secrets! And...I'm dropping a SUBTLE hint here, but there may even be a _romance! _Oooooooh! For any of you wondering, I originally thought of Leto's name being pronounced "leh-toe." But realizing that it was usually pronounced "lee-toe," I figured it works either way. I'm actually warming to "lee-toe," to tell the truth. **

**One last thingie: I'm currently the owner of THE SISTERS GRIMM WIKIA. The jerk who actually founded it hadn't managed the site for years so I'm blowing the dust off! My wikia user name is MirrorMirrorOnTheWall. Go check out the site and (hopefully) help add a few things. Find it at _.com_. Thanks a bunch! **

**Well! see you in a couple o' weeks! Hopefully three...no definite promises ;) Happy April Fools!**

**Valete, amici!  
~mysterywings**


	5. Owl Pellets and Secrets

**Hiya guys and gals!**

**First off, much thanks to:**

_Anti-Banana19_

**For her great comment last chapter. What, you thought the whole "put-commenter(s)-name-in-awesome-italics" thing was one-use only? PSSHH. Yeah right. Now don't think it's a two-use only thing either too, or else you'd be the biggest _fatuus _in the world! That was Latin, by the way. **

**Oh, and I realized how much I chit-chat before and after the actual story itself. I apologize. I'll try to cut down for your enjoyment and your sanity. **

**Well, why don't you just go ahead and read? See you at the bottom of the page! :D**

_Chap. 5_**  
Owl Pellets and Secrets**

Sirius Black laid on his bed in the dorm, alone. He was thinking about things. He was thinking about friends. He was thinking about the Quidditch Team.

He did not get on the team. The boy didn't really expect it…he never did…not with his brother.

Sirius knew well the bitter rivalry between Concepta Blanche and Regulus. It was no surprise. Both Seekers, both on opposing teams. Hell was _bound _to ensue.

James had watched him during the try outs. His best mate said he did spectacular. So was that it? Was his damn kiss-up brother the reason why Sirius didn't get the part?

Yes Sirius was still substitute Beater, which meant that he would take the position of a sick player during a match. That, surely, meant that Concepta _didn't _hate his guts, right? Then why was she still so…distant to him?

Or perhaps he was just not good enough. Maybe that was it.

**Meanwhile**

Severus Snape walked briskly up a staircase, eyes focused on the book he held to his face. He didn't need to look to know that he had reached the Owlery doors; the smell of dozens of owl pellets was enough. Swinging open the door, he still did not look up from the book until he heard faint sniffling.

Severus's heart leapt at the sight of a girl with long, dark red hair sitting at a bench, facing the windows. "Lily!" he exclaimed, running over to sit next to her.

She turned at once. "Sev!" she exclaimed, wiping her nose. She was holding a piece of parchment, crammed with lines and lines of handwriting. A genuine smile touched her lips. "It's good to see you!"

Severus looked at the piece of paper with concern. "What's wrong?"

"N-no," Lily said shakily. "There's nothing wrong with the letter. Here, you can look at it."

Severus laid his book down on the bench and took the letter. Reading it, he realized it was a letter from Lily's parents. He could recognize the warm tone. He remembered the first time he had visited Lily's house and met her parents. It was so much different from his own home. With Lily there, it was almost like heaven. Almost. Counting that muggle Petunia.

It was a very pleasant letter, with requests to write back soon and love. He was shocked when he saw his own name: _"We saw Severus' mother at the supermarket yesterday and said hello! She seemed in a rush, however, and we remembered the good friend Severus has been to you. Give to him our best wishes in school…" _And so on.

"Supermarket, huh?" Severus chuckled.

Lily rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Uh, yeah…I forgot to tell them that the market was actually a major wizard meeting place…"

They had a good laugh about that, until Snape sobered. "Was…something wrong, before?"

Lily looked ashamed. And a little sad. "Just…a little bit of homesickness, I 'spose."

They sat in silence for a moment, owls swooping low above their heads. Lily rested her head on Snape's shoulder, gazing out the windows. "You are a good friend, Sev. No matter how many Gryffindor friends I have…I know I'll always depend on you."

A warm feeling blossomed in Severus' chest. "You too," he insisted. "You're the best friend I ever have."

Her eyes sparkled merrily, and Lily stood, brushing off her skirt. "Great. Now let's get away from this owls' stench."

Laughing again, Snape reached for the book he left on the bench, Secrets to the Dark Arts_, _and followed his friend out of the room. **_Oooooooh..._**

**A few days later**

James yawned. He shifted his position on his bed, accidentally dropping Bites and its Symptoms on his chest. "Oof," he complained, the wind knocked out of him. Not only did the book have to be painfully boring, but it had to be _heavy _too? Why couldn't it be one of pocket-sized books? And written about Quidditch, instead of the slightly toxic saliva of a wombat?

James skimmed the next two pages (more wombat spit) and loudly slammed the dusty tome shut. Sirius and Peter, in the neighboring bunks, jumped at the sound. Remus, of course, was absent. The boys didn't want to take any chances with the secretive lad and thus only took out the book when he was at the library or something nerdy like that.

"Oi, Sirius." Sirius looked from his Potions homework. James held up the book. "Your turn to read."

Sirius sat up in surprise. "You finished chapter eighteen already?" he asked incredulously.

The book was such a dry read that the trio had to take turns reading in cycles; anything more than that was unbearable. Each boy read three chapters for one turn. James only read two chapters so far but was so bored that he couldn't take another look another vulgar bite symptom. James could learn anything, but if he was not interested he didn't fare so well. He was getting so sick of this book that the words seemed to swim in front of his glasses. It was getting so bad that the recurring word "spit" kept looking like "shit". Still, if there was actually something important on chapter eighteen and Sirius missed it because of him, it would be his and only his fault.

"Nah, I started reading chapter fourteen, 'member?" lied James, hoping Sirius forgot his multiples of three. "I only had to read to seventeen, mate. _You're _reading eighteen."

"Really? Oh yeah." Sirius reluctantly took the dusty book and opened up to chapter eighteen.

His chore lifted, James folded his hands behind his head and thought in his bed. "Hey Sirius. Is Potions homework hard?"

"Kind of," said Black, lazily turning a page.

"What is the Gamp's law of Elemental Transfiguration?" asked Peter, who was working on his homework.

"'You can't transfigure something out of nothing'," Potter and Sirius chorused simultaneously.

"Right," said Peter, scribbling it down. "What about the spell to make things slippery?"

"_Glisseo!" _exclaimed James, pointing his wand at a picture frame his aunt sent him. The object immediately slid off the table it was sitting on and crashed to the hardwood floor. "Oops."

"How about that turn-things-into-rock spell?"

"Hmm…" thought James. "You know, I can't remember! Hey Sirius, what was that spell we learned in Transfiguration—the one that turns things into rocks?"

No answer. Sirius was oddly quiet.

"Sirius," repeated James. Sirius was staring at a page in the book wide-eyed...but James couldn't have possibily seen that because Sirius was on the upper bunk.

"Seer?" asked James tentatively. "Sirius, whats—"

Sirius suddenly jolted out of bed, the book landing on the floor with a thick _thud. _In three strides he went to the bedroom door and opened it, looked outside, and hastily closed it again and locked it. James saw his face. It looked like he was having a heart attack. "Holy crap," Sirius said.

"What in the name—"

"The book," cried Sirius. "Quick! I found something!"

James grabbed the book from the floor and opened up to the chapter Sirius was reading, almost ripping the page in the process. Everyone gathered around the book anxiously.

"_One of the most dreaded bites of the Wizarding World is the one of a werewolf," _James read. "_A werewolf is a frightful beast that appears human most of the time but turns into a dangerous near-wolf for one night during the full moon. The disease made by the contact of werewolf saliva and human blood is known as lycanthropy. The symptoms of lycanthropy…" _James started to tremble. A part of him was screaming that this was, indeed, the truth, while another portion of his brain was numb, stubbornly denying it. Sirius swallowed and continued reading. "_The symptoms of lycanthropy appear month near the night of the full moon. They are very like the symptoms of a sick person. On that night, the victim will undergo a painful transformation into a werewolf form and would lose all control of their human conscience, only seeking to bite. _

_"There is no cure for lycanthropy and werewolves during the full moon are extremely dangerous during the full moon."_

The room was silent. James silently leafed through the next pages, but this was enough. It was more than enough.

Stuttering, Peter asked, "Y-y-you d-don't th-th-think—?"

"It makes sense," said Sirius, melancholy.

Peter trembled. "It does," whispered James, more to himself than anyone. He got up and stood in front of the window when something dawned on him. "The night that the woman came to our room…when she took Remus away…!"

The other two boys hesitated. "Yes?" asked Sirius.

James glared up at the crescent moon in the sky, as if wishing it would never become full. "It was a full moon that night. I'm sure of it."

The single fact sent an electric connect-the-dots to occur in his brain. "Then the woman must be Madam Pomfrey," he declared. "And…she takes him somewhere at each full moon—so he won't bite anyone! It makes sense, it makes sense…!"

James looked back up at the sky. "I can't believe we didn't see it. I mean, c'mon, we _all_ know about werewolves!"

Sirius shrugged. "This whole time we were searching up sicknesses and maladies. We weren't getting anywhere at all until Pereguinn gave us a hint. We had no clue we were supposed to be looking for bites and monsters—"

"Remus is not a monster!" James snapped, his voice cutting the quiet of the room like a knife.

"I know, mate," said Sirius hurriedly. "I know. I didn't mean it that way."

James plopped on his bed, looking fatigued. "Can you – can you imagine what pain he has to go through? Every single bloody month? Torture thirty days apart. Twelve instances in a year. And we didn't see it…"

Sirius and Peter both looked pain. Finally, Pettigrew asked feebly, "What do we do?"

Sirius answered, "We tell him we know, that's what. And, there's still a chance—a small one—that Reme isn't a werewolf. So if we ask him if we are right, we'll finally know – for sure. And still…we need to tell him that we're beside him. We won't let him go through this – alone – anymore."

"Yes…" agreed James. "Yeah, we'll ask him. Not tonight, though. Let's—" He pulled his covers over him and laid his head on his pillow. "Let's just go to sleep. We've had enough excitement for one night."

**One week later**

James was stalling. He knew it. Sirius knew it. Peter knew it. The confrontation with Remus was still put off. But James wanted to be careful. This was an extremely delicate matter; one wrong move could send this whole shenanigans crashing to the ground. The important thing, though, was not to freak out Remus. In other words, James didn't want Remus to act like his paranoid great-aunt when James hid a stink bomb under her napkin during dinner one fateful night. His ears still hurt from the screaming.

So, how to bring up the sticky topic? James tried several variations in his head:

"_Hey Reme, are you a werewolf?" _Way too cheerful.

"_Remus, we understand you may be a rabid werewolf once a month, but we still want to be your friends!" _No way. Remus would never take them seriously.

"_Remus…we need to talk." _Not that either. Remus would be afraid. He might run off.

"_Remus…old buddy old pal…" _Professor McGonagall gave James the evil eye.

"Mr. Potter, you are paying attention to the board, I trust?"

"Yes, Professor," said James, sitting up straight in his seat and giving the lecture his undivided attention.

Moments later, Sirius noticed black, bold cursive letters writing on its own accord on the corner of his notes. The Marauders' way of "passing" notes. _All in our rooms after dinner, _James wrote. _Tonight. _

**That night**

Remus walked into the dorm, humming a Wizarding tune he heard while passing the Hogwarts Choir room. He closed the door, unaware that it locked behind him, and saw James, Peter, and Sirius huddled together on the floor, conversing about something. Remus held little suspicion and put his stack of homework neatly on his bed. He was just starting his Charms essay when Peter said, "Remus? Come here, we have a question."

_A homework question, _thought Remus cheerfully. Peter often needed homework aid; if James and Sirius couldn't answer his question, Remus was automatically the next source.

He sat down, now forming a neat little circle of four, and Remus asked, "What do you need help on?"

"A quick something else, first," said Sirius casually. He glanced at James. This was when Remus first noticed something was off. It was as if they were sharing lines of a play.

James looked at him straight in the eye and spoke. His voice was all-friendliness. "Remus. Good old Remus. Our old buddy old pal…"

_Run, _Remus's instincts urged. But Remus stayed put. There was no reason to be afraid. These were his friends. They never did one bad thing to him; he didn't believe they ever would.

"We've been doing some reading, Reme," continued James. "We found some pretty interesting stuff."

_We? _Remus didn't like the sound of this. Since when did the Marauders leave out Remus—_especially _for an interesting book? "Oh really? What is it?" asked Remus.

"Remus," blurted out James, as if afraid he didn't have time to get in what he had to say. "Are – you're lycanthropic, aren't you?"

Remus's face lost all of its blood. His head felt numb. No. They couldn't have found out. He misheard. Nerves, that was all. Then a part of Remus wailed in despair. They knew. For who knows how long, they were plotting against him. They probably already written to Dumbledore, requesting a change of roommates.

They were waiting for his answer. Peter gently shook his shoulder. "Reme?" he asked feebly.

He faced him and opened his mouth, but no words came out. His parents told him to never tell anyone his secrets. But was it better this way? If he isolated himself, his friends would come to no danger. He would leave, leaving _them _safe. It was perfect. A happily ever after. But…yet…

"Yes," Remus croaked, pushing Peter's hand away. Someone drew in a sharp breath, but Remus couldn't see—his vision blurred. "I'm a w-werewolf. It's all true."

He covered his eyes with his hands and hid his face, shoulders shuddering horribly. Then, to his astonishment, hands reached out to him, in comfort.

"Don't worry, Remus," asserted Sirius. "We'll help. We won't leave We're still here."

"We're still here," echoed Peter.

Then: "Reme, look at us." It was James. Slowly, Remus lowered his hands to see the concerned, caring faces of his dearest friends.

James sat beside him. "Remus. Did you think that we'd leave you just because you turn into a werewolf once a month? Merlin's socks! You're our friend, our mate!"

"Our chum," said Peter.

"It's good we know. We can help you, now that we know. It's not fair you have to go through this every month."

Remus sniffled and shook his head _no, _as in _you shouldn't help me, _so James gripped his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Remus! _Nothing's changed!" _he said, giving him a little shake. "You're still the most brilliant, kind friend we'd ever have. Right mates?" Sirius and Peter both nodded enthusiastically.

"Nothing's changed," repeated James. "You're not a monster because of this - not at all! You're still Remus. You got that?"

Remus never thought of it that way. "Yeah…yeah, I got it," he said. He sat up straighter, wiping his nose. Then he opened his mouth to speak further.

"You don't need to tell us anymore," interuppted Sirius, concerned. "It had to be a long night for you."

Remus shook his head. "No. I've kept secrets from you guys for too long. It's time you know everything." A shaky breath. "I was bitten," he began, "when I was five."

"That's awful!" exclaimed Peter. "Who?"

Remus shook his head again. "I don't know. But I feel sorry for whoever it was—probably had to go through the same things as I do, and had no control over what it was doing. **_Remus didn't know that Greyback bit him on purpose yet. :P_**

"My parents tried desperately to find a cure. They spent galleons buying potions, elixirs, anything—but none of them worked."

The rest of the Marauder crew nodded somberly.

"Then, of course, when I was eleven, someone from Hogwarts came to enroll me. My parents thought since, you know, I was a werewolf that it would be impossible, so Dumbledore was called and he said that there was no reason I shouldn't go. And so…here I am." He smiled at his friends. "Each full moon," Remus continued, his voice hollow, "Madam Pomfrey—"

"I knew it!" interjected James.

"Madam Pomfrey takes me to the Whomping Willow. There's – there's this little knot at the base of the Willow, and that makes the whole tree freeze. Just like that. And so under the tree is a passage to…to the Shrieking Shack."

"The Shrieking Shack?" asked Sirius. "I heard about that. The most haunted place Britain! There's a dozen ghost stories about that place. People can hear ghastly screams from inside…" Sirius stopped speaking, realizing something.

"Yup," said Remus humorlessly. "Those screams are mine."

Silence. "Th-the transformation is terrible," the boy said, his voice cracking. "And when it's finally over, I have no one to bite. I—I need to bite and scratch myself…"

To his surprise yet again, all the boys gave him a humongous hug. "It's okay, Reme! We've got you covered. We'll find a way to help!"

And all werewolf-related talk was whisked away from the room, and the boys chatted about other things. But even during all this happy chatter, every Marauder - especially Remus - could feel the moon's chilly gaze, hovering in the twilight sky, an ever-present reminder. _Soon, _the moon's snow-white glare seemed to say. _Soon. _Until Sirius got up and closed the window's curtains.

**Three days later**

Sirius jogged swiftly through the dew-laden grass of the Quidditch field. He stopped in the middle of the great field, shielded his eyes, and looked up. There, in the pale blue sky, zoomed a dozen or so wizards and witches on broomstick, along with Bludgers whizzing around like an over-active popcorn machine.

Sirius drummed his fingers on his arm impatiently. James asked Sirius to meet him at the Quidditch field after practice, and it was running late. Finally, with a signal from Concepta, the team descended towards the grassy ground, James disembarking beside Black with a _woosh. _

"Good job, team, good job," complimented Concepta. Her eyes fell upon Sirius and the captain promptly turned to James. "Less show-offing next practice, hmm?"

James rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Conce."

Sirius's ears pricked up. He was not aware of the captain's nickname.

"…Now go to the changing room and for goodness sakes, run a comb through that hair, Potter!" Concepta chided in a friendly way. James grinned and darted off. Sirius was about to follow when he heard Concepta say, "I'd like a word with you, Black."

Flinching at his family name, Sirius obediently turned towards her. "Hmm," noticed Concepta, tapping a gloved finger on her lips. "You don't like being addressed by your last name, do you? Very well then. Sirius..." she took a breath "...are you upset about your cut? In any way at all?"

For the first time, Sirius heard concern in her voice. The emotion was almost foreign to his ears. Oh no, nobody worried about Sirius Black. His brother, Regulus, is doing so well! Surely Sirius is just like him! He straightened his back. "No. I'm fine with it."

Concepta smirked, as if thinking, _typical Black. _"Good," she replied.

Nothing else was said. Sirius shifted from foot to foot. He was just about to turn and leave when she also added, "And by the way, I didn't cut you because of Regulus."

* * *

"Wait, so she said _what?" _asked James again.

Sirius shrugged. "Well, naturally, I was pretty surprised 'cuz, you know, I thought it was because of my brother the whole time."

"Yeah, then what?"

"Well, then she went on to laugh about how surprised I seemed, then she said 'look, you're brother's a pretty big arse, but I figured since you were in Gryffindor you had to have an ounce of good in you.'"

"True. A very small ounce," commented James. "So you were cut _why?_"

"I was thinking the same thing, and by _Merlin, _that girl has to be a mind reader! She then said that I was very good for my age, but Beater is a pretty difficult position for a 'younger bloke' like me. I guess that was the nice way of saying the older kids would literally kill me in a real match, you know, since they're stronger and can get a harder whack at the Bludgers…then Concepta said I should try out next year, and _then_ I could get in, if…"

James was intrigued. "If what?"

"Pretty sure this was a joke, but if I didn't give her any of the 'typical Black troubles'. She said from the minute she realized I was related to Regulus, she knew I was gonna be trouble." He grinned as if they were words of praise. "That's why she told me all this, y'see. She said that she 'didn't want the brother of Regulus on her bad side.'"

"Really! She said that!" exclaimed James.

Sirius shrugged again and smiled. "I told her she was perfectly right, of course. Smart girl, that Concepta. Smart girl."

**FOREWARNING: Before any shippers come banging at my door, there is absolutely no chance of a Sirius and Concepta relationship. She has a Keeper waiting in line for her right now...**

**Well, I hope you liked that. The chapter's probably so great 'cause I was listening to Paramore the whole time I was writing to it. I'm listening to it right now. _IGNORANCE IS YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND_...sorry, I'll stop now. **

**Hmm...I guess _"Ignorance" by Paramore_ will be our chapter song. I know, it doesn't really fit, but whatever. Remus had the other three Marauders in IGNORANCE! If you have better suggestions, just review or PM me, I might stick it on here later. **

**Oh, and also: I made mistakes in chapter 4 and chapter three. First off, in chapter 4 I wrote "chapter three." :P I guess that's why I failed my math test. For chapter three, I realized that if Neville Longbottom is a pureblood, his MOM (Alice) has to be pureblood too. So, listen close: ALICE is pureblood, and now LETO is halfblood. It will work better for the plot later, anyway. It's great how these things just work out. Tullia is still halfblood and Lily, of course, is still muggle-born. **

**The changes should be made. **

_**Vale, amici!**_

**mysterywings**


	6. You're Ten Times the Wizard He is

**Hi guys. Sorry for the wait. **

**Let's display some worty reviewers!**

_**isabel in lala land **_

_**ShootinStar  
**_

_**Anti-Banana19**_

**Thank you for all the readers of this fic. Which is you, basically. :)**

**Some darker news...**

**As the writer of this fic, I have made a grave mistake. I really am embarrassed. Like any good old Harry Potter fan, I was rereading the books the other day. And y****ou know, I always imagined Regulus Arcturus Black (Sirius's brother, basically) as the elder brother of Sirius. Probably because he acted so much like Percy Weasley, who is older than Ron. I dunno, I think messed up that way, but IMAGINE MY SHOCK**

**...**

**I left some space there for you to imagine my appalled-ness. (?) Anyway, IMAGINE MY SHOCK when I realized that Regulus was the YOUNGER brother of Sirius. I was like: _OHHH MYYYYY GODDDD!_ This whole time I was writing this fic, Regulus was older that Sirius! Older older _older_. **

**Even though this is fanfiction, I still believe that fics should have _some _kernel of relationship to the actual books. In this fic, the plot heavily relies on what our dear J.K. Rowling provides us in the series because I have so much respect to her. I really am ashamed of my mistake because it is simply not canon with the books. Because of this, I am fully available to rewrite the past 5 chapters. :/**

**However...we all know fics can be twisted and shaped away from the series. Dracione, anyone? So here's the questions I have for you: ****Did _you_ know Regulus was younger than Sirius? Did you notice my mistake before I caught it?**

**_AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:_ Should I go and rewrite? Or is it fine the way it is? Really, I want your opinion. I must have it because Regulus appears next chappie. Therefore, I am opening commenting to anonymous reviewers, but PLEASE do not abuse this oppurtunity. There is also a poll on my profile. **

**Thank you so much everyone, you all gave me superior advice and motivation in each of your comments. If you want something to happen in the fic, just request with PM or comments. **

**So here's Chapter 6. I wanted a little Hogwarts Express, a little Snape, a little Animagus, and a little quality Lily and James* time. The result? Warning! Extremely random stuff approaching! **

**Chapter song: _Anything you can do - _Annie Get Your Gun**

_Chap. 6  
_**You're Ten Times the Wizard _He'll_ Ever Be. **

The train pulled up to the throng of black-robed children with a puff of smoke and a _hiss. _The students cheered and immediately started flowing into the open doors, trying their best to carry their suitcases, owl cages, and various magical items onto the train without mishap.

The train looked oh-so-welcoming as it waited patiently for its compartments to fill, and it gleamed scarlet in the light of the station. A fitting color, noted James Potter, for the holidays.

Ah yes, Christmas had arrived at Hogwarts. It was a truly satisfying event, with the tinsel-covered trees, carols, candles, and, of course, the great feast, in which platters upon platters of delicious food were served to the merry students, as enchanted snow fell from the lofty ceiling of the Great Hall. And now the students were getting ready for the train ride home; now they were waving their holiday wishes out the windows to various teachers, prefects, and students staying behind as the train whistled its departing call.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Owl me!"

"Thanks for the presents!"

"Happy Holidays!"

"Goodbye!"

"See you after break!"

And it embarked to the hundreds of places the students called "home".

* * *

"Catch it!" yelled James Potter, as his Chocolate Frog leapt a graceful arc out of its package.

The boys roared in delight as the lively morsel bounded ecstatically around the Hogress Express compartment. What's more, the wrapper the frog came in clung insistently on its sticky foot, making the whole event even funnier. It was great fun until the mischievous amphibian rebounded on the window and struck the compartment door so hard, it opened. And the frog escaped, hopping down the aisle.

The boys could now only gape at the chocolate smear on the door with a mixture of shock, amusement, and downright awe for the little guy. Then they wondered if they should chase after it. They looked at James.

He shrugged. "Well, that's alright, I s'pose. The card is the only thing that matters, anyway, so as long as I have that…" James felt around his seat, looking for the Chocolate Frog Card he so adored to collect when he discovered that, like a dolt, he neglected to take out the card from its wrapper when the frog started its frenzy. It then dawned on him that the wrapper, which was attached to the leg of the frog, was probably halfway across the train and the card possibly even has fallen out.

"Holy cauldron!" James bellowed, leaping from his seat. "We need to get that frog!"

**Meanwhile**

Lily was having a nice time talking with Alice when she glanced at her silver watch. "Oops!" she said. "I promised I'd meet Severus in his compartment in two minutes." With a wave, she stood from her chair and slid open the compartment door, when to her shock a chocolate frog hopped into the compartment. Alice was startled, Leto laughed, and Tullia squealed; the frog leapt into her lap.

"Eeep! Get if off!" she said.

Lily carefully took the frog between two hands, her brow furrowed. "That's odd," she said, while gently tugging at the wrapper on the frog's foot. "It seems that –"

"IT'S MINE!" roared James Potter, bursting into the compartment and knocking Lily over flat. Of course, the second James appeared, the frog immediately launched itself out of Lily's hands and started to ricochet off the walls.

"Get it…get it!" James exclaimed.

Lily, who was currently on the ground, lifted herself up and spit hair out of her mouth. "Potter! Get out of here; it's already crowded enough, we don't _need_ any more people—"

"Is it in here?" yelled Sirius, who crammed into the compartment, followed by Remus and Peter. The small cubicle was immediately stuffed with eight bodies that wrestled with each other for space. It didn't help that they were hollering like monkeys, either.

"Oi! Can I get out of here?" demanded Lily.

"It's on your head, Alice!" pointed Leto.

"What! Oh, get it off!"

"GIVE ME THAT FROG!"

"What do you want with it, Potter?" asked Leto in disgust.

"The card—"

"Oh my _god_, it – it just relieved itself in my _hair_!"

"There it goes! It's jumping again—!"

"Close the door, close the door!"

"No! _You_ guys need to get out of here!"

"We're not leaving 'til we get the card!"

"There, it's closed!"

"_What the heck is going on?_" cried Tullia, distressed.

"It's there, it's there!"

"Er, Sirius—d'you mind not suffocating me?"

"Oh—sorry, Pete."

"Perhaps if we just made room—"

"Ow—_move it_, Potter!"

"Well ex-cuh-yooz _me_, Evans. You're the one that took my frog!"

"I did not!"

"You were holding it!"

"But that doesn't mean—"

_A bonk. _

_A shout._

A croak.

_A shriek._

"Does anyone happen to have a napkin?" pleaded Alice.

"Ow!"

"Oops, sorry Tullia, didn't mean to squish you!"

"Remus! Conversing with the enemy?"

"What? No, Sirius, I was just apologizing—"

"It is so damn crowded!" gasped Leto.

"Ooh, language, Leto!"

"Well, sorry _Sirius, _but not everyone happens to be a sissy!"

"…_Excuse me?_"

"It relieved itself in my hair! It really did!"

"I am _not _a sissy! It is impossible!"

"Oh really? That's exactly what a sissy would say."

"You little—"

"CAN EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP?" screamed Lily.

After an extremely long dialogue, everyone shut up. Lily took out her wand and said, "_Accio _chocolate frog!"

The frog immediately zoomed towards the hand not holding her wand. She stuffed the wand in her jeans pocket, ripped off the wrapper (that still managed to stick on the frog's webbed foot), and slapped it in James's hand. "There."

"Oh," said James, staring blankly at the card. It showed a moving photo of Godric Gryffindor—a card that he had dozens of. "Why didn't we think of that?"

"Because you have no _brain, _Potter. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to meet up with a friend."

Lily pushed open the door again and purposefully walked out. All the boys looked down at their feet in embarrassment—except James, who stared in the direction Lily walked off to.

"Wow," said Sirius, rubbing the back of his neck. "I feel like an idiot."

"That's because you are," interjected Leto.

"Why you—!"

"And you're still a sissy," she added smugly. And she thought, _Girls: two points, Boys: zero!_

* * *

Severus sat inside the empty compartment, tapping his wand against his thigh impatiently. What was taking Lily so long?

And then he caught a glimpse of her red hair. Her head popped into the door. "Hey Sev."

"Lily!" Severus instantly scooted closer to the window to make room. He immediately forgot that she came late at all. Then he noticed that she was chewing. "What're you eating?"

She swallowed before answering. "Chocolate Frog," she answered. Severus tried not to stare as she licked her lips for any excess chocolate.

"Oh. Did you know that the ingredient that makes them act like frogs is something called croakoa?" said Snape.

"Really!" said Lily. Then she gave a small smile—one that you would only see when someone was thinking about an inside joke. "Then this frog must have a hell of a lot of it," she concluded. Severus didn't know what she was talking about.

"Should I even ask?" he asked.

"No."

"All right then."

* * *

And that was it. Two weeks later, the Hogwarts Express pulled back into the station. Holiday Break had ended, and it was time once more for school.

The Marauders stepped off the train chortling wildly.

"_Man,_" said Sirius, clutching his stomach. "Funniest. Prank. Ever."

James jerked a finger toward himself. "All thanks to the prankster mastermind," he said modestly.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Always the modest one, James."

The boys had a good laugh about that until James heard a voice behind him say: "Hey James."

James turned to see Jeannette. One of his many friends that was a girl. She was short and petite, with blonde hair like a waterfall and eyes like blue ice.

"Oh," James said, and for a second no witty words came to his lips. "Hi."

"Had a good break?" she asked.

"The best," he grinned, his boyish charm kicking back in.

Jeannette smiled, revealing her pearly whites. "That's good. See you in Herbology." She immediately left and hurried toward her friends, where they huddled around her as she talked. The group of girls then simultaneously looked towards James and burst into girlish giggles.

James turned back towards his friends to see waggling eyebrows. "Shut up, guys," he said, though with a smile, as he continued walking along the Platform.

"Shut up?" asked Black innocently, as he followed. "We didn't say a word, Jamsie."

**Four hours later**

"Wow!" yawned Leto, as it was the easiest word to say when yawning. She stretched her limbs after her long sit in the Great Hall. "That was one tasty welcoming feast."

Tullia nodded in agreement, as did Lily and Alice. "Seems they went through a lot of trouble just to greet us back!" noticed Alice.

"I know," sighed Lily happily, as she unpacked her trunk. "They must've missed us."

"They must've missed _me!_" said Leto with a flourish of a hand. Then, with a grin: "Especially Professor Sprout."

Tullia laughed. "No! Not after you killed all her fairy pods!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know the spray bottle had floor cleaner, not fertilizer?" wailed Leto. Leto flopped on the bed, scowling slightly at the memory of the mishap. "Who uses floor cleaner, anyway?" she muttered. "We have frickin' magical mops and brooms!"

Lily shuddered, remembering the enchanted brooms and mops that would sweep the floor, as if guided by invisible ghosts. "Those things still creep me out," she said.

"Well the mops need soap to clean the floor," Tullia pointed out, "so that's what the floor cleaner—"

"Yeah, yeah," said Leto carelessly. "Then why can't we just use a 'clean floor' spell?"

"…'Clean floor spell'?" repeated Lily incredulously. "Is there even such thing?"

"Well," said Tullia logically, "you could use Aguamenti, and then maybe transfigure some floor cleaner out of something else, but that would be time consuming and—"

"Oh, never mind!" said Leto, though her anger was feigned. "Must you always try to prove me wrong?"

After that extremely random conversation, Leto, the talkative one, then asked, "So what did you guys get for the Holidays?"

"Candy," everyone responded at once.

After a good laugh, Alice said, "Let's see…I got a new hat…" From her suitcase she pulled out a lilac-colored triangular hat that fit snugly on her head. "New earrings, books, and a new Wizards Chess set. Oh, and look!" She whipped out a quill that wrote in multiple colors.

Tullia displayed several new hardcover books (mostly were for school), an envelope of galleons, and a beautifully decorated mother-of-pearl comb, along with a matching hair clip.

Leto squealed in excitement when they asked _her _what she received. "I got boots!" she declared, hopping off the bed and displaying the knee-high leather cowboy shoes. "I…er…got a broom, too."

"A broom?" cried Alice. Brooms were expensive. "What model?"

"Skystreaker. What about you, Lils?"

All turned expectantly toward Lily, and suddenly she felt nervous. How were they to react with her Muggle gifts?

She got out from her suitcase a few muggle books from her favorite authors. Her friends turned the pages excitedly, and Alice nearly fell over in shock when none of the pictures moved. Next Lily showed them the clothes her parents got her, which Tullia exclaimed as "cute!". Finally, reluctantly, Lily pulled out her last rectangular, slightly heavy gift.

"What is it?" asked Leto, puzzled.

"It's a Walkman******," said Lily, opening the audio cassette.

"What is _soh-nigh?_" said Alice, tracing her fingers over the letters _SONY. _

Lily nearly burst out laughing. "Guys," she explained, "It's like a portable stereo. They're the newest thing."

"Stereo?" repeated Leto. "Stare at what?"

So Lily went on a long explanation on what a stereo was, and then how the Walkman worked. Finally, she took the headphones and placed them over Tullia's ears. Her eyes grew wide.

"Oh my god!" she said, hurriedly passing it to Leto.

Funnily enough, Leto really liked the music and started dancing all over the place. "Muggle things are so cool!" she exclaimed. Alice loved it just as much.

It soon seemed that her friends loved Lily's present more than Lily did herself. From then on, Lily's friends borrowed and exchanged the Walkman amongst themselves on a daily basis. It was great fun until Leto was strolling along a hallway with it, accidentally slipped on the staircase, and dropped it down five flights of stairs. Leto returned to the dorm, teary-eyed, holding the cracked pieces of plastic and wire. Lily assured it was okay, she said it was pretty heavy to hold anyway, and, anyway, everyone knew that Leto loved it the most because she was starting to name the device "Walky."

Leto's despair became so great that Lily fixed the Walkman with magic, but it was still never worked quite as properly as it should have; eventually the gang forgot all about the device. By that time it was well into February, and James was having discoveries of his own.

**Late February**

"Hurry to your seats, class," called McGonagall to the rowdy students. "We have an important class today."

James disembarked from his fellow Marauders to his desk. Unfortunately, due to their tendency to cause mischief, the Professor seated the friends apart. James wouldn't have minded terribly if she wasn't so obvious about it. I mean, each Marauder was literally in one of the four corners of the room. Surely _that _wasn't necessary, James reasoned to himself.

"All right, students," preambled McGonagall. "I'll begin with a demonstration." James turned in his seat to roll his eyes at Sirius. He had top marks in Transfigurations. Potter was certain this would be another simple display, although sometimes the efforts of other students were quite amusing.

James faced the front of the classroom before McGonagall could yell at him, but…the Professor was not there. She had disappeared. There was, however, a tabby cat on her desk. James blinked. The feline was still there. Had McGonagall Disapparated? That wasn't part of Transfiguration, and there was no give-away _crack. _James glanced around the classroom to see the stunned, wide-eyed faces of students. He turned his gaze back towards the cat and noticed, for the first time, the rectangular markings around its eyes. The cat stared at him in such a knowing, human-esque way that James was starting to think…

And then he nearly fell out of his chair in shock. _Holy Merlin, _he thought, mind reeling. _The cat is Professor McGonagall!_

Suddenly, the fur on the back of the cat rose, and its limbs lengthened as if it was standing on tip-toe. Its nose stretched out and lengthened into a human shape; fur vanished into skin before the students' eyes. In a blink, Professor McGonagall was back in witch form, daintily sitting on the edge of her desk.

The class erupted in applause, and McGonagall nodded humbly.

When the clapping died down, a student exclaimed, "You transfigured yourself!"

The Professor cringed at the misconception. "No. What you just saw there, students, was a transformation known as an _Animagus. _Animagi are completely different from Transfiguration."

Even James had to scratch his head for that one.

McGonagall sighed, then further explained. "If I transfigured Samantha into a toad – oh, stop cringing like that, dear, I'm not going to actually do it! – if I transfigured her into a toad, then Samantha will have no memory of being a witch at all. She will simply be…well, a toad. She will need someone else to transfigure her back. An _Animagus, _however, is a state achieved after many years of arduous work, when a witch or wizard can turn into a certain animal at will and have complete control over their thoughts. They, easily, can turn back into human again. That is the difference between Transfiguration and the transformation of an Animagus."

McGonagall was very pleased of how intrigued her students were at this moment, especially Mr. James Potter. It seemed as if the gears in his brain were working twice as quickly as it normally did, which, of course, was true. To James, it was as if the Professor's lecture had just struck a flame of an idea—a very small flame, indeed, but one that was growing into a raging fire by the second.

He even raised his hand.

"Mr. Potter?"

"Professor, when someone is in their Animagus state, are they human? Er…" James _really _wanted to ask if a werewolf could infect Animagi, but that would raise suspicion. "What I mean is, could an Animagus catch a disease that only humans could get?"

Minerva raised an eyebrow at the acuteness of his question, but replied, "Well, Animagi are animals in every aspect except for their mind. If it is truly something only humans could contract, then an Animagus wouldn't be affected. So the answer to your question is no."

James wanted to "_AHA!_". He wanted to jump up and down. He could've danced a jig. He could've even – god forbid – squealed like a little girl. But he didn't. He knew he had to control himself at this crucial moment, even though he had finally figured out how to accompany Remus during his werewolf transformations. Peter, Sirius, and James would learn to become Animagi. That way, when Remus went to the Willow for his transformations, he would have the comfort of his friends there, because in Animagus form, they would have no fear of being infected. James immediately blurt out: "How do you become one?"

The Professor frowned. "Well first, Mr. Potter, you need to be registered by the Ministry of Magic to become an Animagus"—James's heart sank dramatically—"Animagi in the past tended to, ah, use their skills for criminal purposes, which is why the Ministry needs to know each and every Animagus. Even if you pass that, you must go through several years of training and preparation. If done wrong, the results could be disastrous."

James's excitement was slightly reduced, but he was still thinking as quickly as summer lightening. He caught a glimpse of Remus giving him an odd look, as if thinking, _What are you planning? _

_Something great, _thought James to himself as he dutifully faced the front of the classroom. _Something amazing. _

* * *

"Guys," began James Potter, once they were back in their dorm. "I got an idea during Transfiguration. Something really exciting."

"Forget it," said Remus coldly.

James was astonished. "But you haven't even heard it!"

"It doesn't take rocket science to find out that you want Sirius, Peter and yourself to become Animagi to accompany me for…for my transformations. Everything can go wrong. I won't allow it."

But Sirius and Peter were agape with surprise. "That'd be so cool!" exclaimed Peter squeakily.

"Animagi?" repeated Sirius dumbly. "Blimey, you…you think we could do it?"

"Of course we could," scoffed James.

"But you aren't doing it," discouraged Remus.

"Remus, stop it," said James sternly. "We feel awful every time you go off to that torture because whenever you do we just stay here twiddling our thumbs. _This_ is the way we can help…we can't get infected when we're Animagi! Just trust us."

"Yeah," interjected Sirius in the tender moment. "We're not _that _reckless."

Remus stood up quickly, eyes stormy. "And don't you think _I _feel awful that I put you guys through all this worry? That I put you in danger? No. You don't understand. You've done enough by _knowing_ my condition and by not abandoning me. Just…don't get any more involved, okay?"

"We can't help ourselves, Reme," said Sirius. "We're just too meddlesome!"

"Would you shut up?" said James, punching Sirius in the arm.

"Ow."

"Then say something _useful _for once!"

Sirius took a breath and said wholeheartedly, "Remus, Jay is right. We're your friends; we _want _to help. You say that we don't understand—we _want _to understand. And being Animagi…well, you gotta admit, that'd be pretty bloody cool."

Remus shook his head, even though his resolve was crumbling. "How can you be so sure you can even _become _Animagi?" he asked exasperatedly. "You heard McGonagall—it takes years, and you need to be skilled! You don't even know how!"

"We will soon," said James evenly. "There's nothing the library doesn't have."

"It'll be in the Restricted section," said Remus flatly.

"My invisibility cloak…" reminded Potter.

"It's illegal to try unregistered!"

James smiled wickedly. "Oh, Remus. 'Illegal' is a word. Just another word."

Peter snickered, and finally Remus's shoulders slumped. "I don't see how I can stop you guys," he muttered. Then, in a slightly louder voice: "But only if you _all_ agree."

"I'm in," said Sirius immediately.

A hesitation. "Me too," said Peter.

They waited.

"Oh c'mon!" said James. "I brought up the whole bloody idea. Yes, of _course_ I agree."

"Wow," said Sirius, ecstatic. "We're really doing it. We're becoming Animagi!"

"Not too loudly, Seer," said James as he stood up and walked towards his Invisibility Cloak.

"Where're you going?" asked Peter.

"Going out to snog Jeannette, I'm sure," teased Sirius.

James rolled his eyes and said, "I'm off to the library. McGonagall said it'd take years to become Animagi, didn't she? Might as well get started."

**Three months later: May**

The students sat perfectly silent as Professor Pereguinn strode into the room. It was exclusively forbidden for any discussion before, after, and during class. This was just one of the reasons most students were bitter about the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Grudgingly, though, everyone had to admit they learned more from this class than any other, and Lily Evans had heard Dumbledore commenting that Pereguinn was the best DADA teacher in years.

…And there was still _one _way the class could talk and have fun…

"Today we will be practicing our Disarming," announced the strict Professor. With a sweep of his wand, the desks and chairs floated up to the high ceiling so the students would have room to practice. "Pair up!"

The students instantly went on a frenzy to their friends. Lily hopped out of her seat and quickly darted to Severus, who smiled gladly. Then all the pairs lined up accordingly: one partner on one side of the room and the other on the direct opposite side. Once Pereguinn called, "Begin!", choruses of _"expelliarmus!" _sounded around the room.

"You first, Sev!" called Lily to the other side of the room. As it was too loud to hear her partner, Lily only saw his lips move, and suddenly, with a red jet of light, her wand blasted out of her hand, and she was knocked back a few steps as well.

"Good!" she complimented, turning to retrieve her wand. When she faced her partner again she saw him mouth _sorry. _"No, it's okay!" she yelled as loud as she could over the din. Then she pointed her wand, concentrated, and said, "_Expelliarmus."_

A clatter of his wand against the tiles. Lily smiled. Again and again, the two exchanged Disarming spells, pausing each turn to pick up their wand. Impressed by the durability of her wand, Lily paused for a moment to admire it and made sure it truly wasn't damaged.

"Hey Evans!" She flinched at the voice.

"Evans. _Evans!_"

She finally turned. "What, Potter?" she said, hoping she sounded as annoyed as she felt.

"Shouldn't dawdle, Evans. Aren't you the _star student_?" yelled James from a few students down. Of course, his obnoxious voice was more than audible.

Lily steamed. "Yeah, since when were you the boss of me, Potter?"

He grinned, and Lily hated how good-looking it was. "Just a suggestion, Evans. You'd need _months _of practice to get nearly as good as me!"

"_Months?_" she repeated. "Oh no. I think I'm better than you are _now_!"

"You can talk the talk, but there's no way you can walk the walk!" said James. Of course, at this, Lily came storming over to him, physically pushed his partner (Peter) away, and pointed her wand at him. "_Expell-" _

"_Expelliarmus!" _cried James suddenly, and Lily's wand yanked out of her hand.

"That's not fair," yelled Lily. "I was about to go!"

James made a mocking _too-bad-for-you_ face. "I told you I was the best, Evans. I told you I was ama—" And at that, Lily disarmed him with a red beam of light.

The Potter scowled, for Lily's disarm was truly just as forceful as his was. He picked up his wand from the floor and said forcefully, "_Expelliarmus!" _

Lily, who was waiting for it, lunged out of the way and just managed to miss it. She quickly scrambled to her feet and shouted the incantation.

"What!" protested Potter, quickly retrieving the fallen stick. "That's not fair! I demand—"

"_Expelliarmus!_"

His wand dropped once again. "EVANS!"

"Still got my wand," mocked Lily. Reveling in her success, Lily aimed her wand and incanted the spell once more.

And then the unexpected happened: he produced a shield charm, and the Disarm rebounded harmlessly. Lily was particularly vexed because she never performed the _protego _charm herself, even if she did know the theory.

"That's cheating. We aren't supposed to use different spells!" It was true. It was one of Pereguinn's strictest rules.

A laugh. "I play by no laws!" declared James. "_Expelliarmus!_"

Clatter. "That's it!" Lily screamed as she picked up her wand, hoarse from all the yelling. She wasn't really thinking; the spell just came to her. "_Petrificus Totalus!_"

James's arms instantly snapped to his sides, and he dropped like a stone. The class hushed instantly at the sound of his fall. Lily felt her extremities go numb. Professor Pereguinn walked briskly into the scene.

"I didn't mean it," Lily squeaked as the Professor knelt at his side. "Oh, I really didn't mean it!"

"Shush," said Pereguinn forcefully, and with a wave of his wand, Potter un-froze, groaned, and rubbed the back of his head. "What…?"

After standing James up, Pereguinn faced Lily. "What is the classroom policy here?" he demanded.

She turned her eyes downward, ashamed. "When practicing with classmates," she recited, "never use a spell that you were not told to use."

"That is right. Detention, Miss Evans."

Lily flinched as if she was struck. "But Professor—!" she began. He raised a cold eyebrow, and she remembered never to start a sentence with the word "but" in front of a teacher. "Professor, Pott – James used a spell from outside of class as well."

"I did not!" said James.

"I assure you that I am not blind, Miss Evans," said Pereguinn. "I'm giving James a detention as well."

James didn't seemed too distressed, though his jaw hardened, but Lily was distraught. Hollowly, she said, "I'll come, Professor."

* * *

Lily regretted every step she took toward Pereguinn's office that evening, because it meant a step closer to detention with James Potter as well. She could just imagine the torture.

All too soon, she reached the door, and she opened it with a breath.

Potter was not there yet. Pereguinn, however, was grading tests at his desks. "Good, you have arrived," he said. "I will give you your assignment once Mr. Potter comes."

A few minutes later, James entered through the door, his face still stretched from a good laugh he had with his friends, but he immediately sobered up at the sight of the Professor.

Pereguinn gestured toward dozens of glass containers on a dusty shelf. "You will clean my jars," he said.

At a closer look, Lily recoiled—they were all filled with preserved magical specimens suspended in thick liquid. James, however, shrugged, so they started by taking the jars off the shelf. After they were set out on various desks to be cleaned, Pereguinn stood from his desk and held out his hand. "Cleaning rags are in the box," he said, and Lily was relieved to realize that the Professor only intended them to clean the outside of the jars—which each were covered by a film of dirt and dust. "Your wands, please."

"Why?" asked James.

"I need to step out of the room for just a minute," he said impatiently. "Since I don't want any _Body-Bind _curses being thrown around"—Lily lowered her eyes—"I will collect your wands."

Reluctantly, Lily surrendered her willow wand—James, too, passed over his mahogany one grudgingly.

"I shouldn't be gone for too long," the Professor said, straightening his tie. "Even so, I want these jars cleaned."

And so he left. The two sat and started the rub the outside of the jars with the cloths. Finally, James said, "I didn't know you knew the Full Body-Bind Curse."

"I read it somewhere," Lily said vaguely, not wanting to reveal that it was the first time she actually used the spell. She hesitated. "I didn't know you knew _protego _either."

"Well," said James pompously, "I am the great James Potter." Just to show off, he ran his fingers through his windswept hair. Too late, he realized his hand was covered in grime from the jar. "Damn."

Lily hid a grin and then picked up the next jar in disgust. "Ew," she said, peering into the glass. "What is it?"

"A grindylow, if I am correct," said James.

"Oh, yes, that's in the textbook, isn't it?"

"It is. Five chapters ahead."

"Really!"

A shrug. "I can get bored."

Lily was impressed, but sure as hell she didn't show it.

Unfortunately, she didn't mask it that well. "Impressed, aren't you?" pressed on James.

Lily ducked her head, silently cursing herself. "It was just a surprise," she said, rubbing the jar with extra force, "that such a reckless person would spend his time with his textbook, when he has a gajillion friends to hang out with and even more to prank."

This comment was particularly mean, even to James Potter. Lily was tempted to feel the tip of her tongue, to test if it was really as sharp as it had just sounded.

James pretended to be offended. "Excuse me? I am not reckless!"

"Uh, yeah you are."

A moment of thought. Then he shrugged. "Yeah, I am," he muttered admittedly.

A long stretch of silence followed. Lily decided she might as well be civil. She had a part in the punishment, too.

"I'm sorry I put the Body-bind Curse on you," she said, still staring intently at her jar.

James looked up, surprise. And for a second, green eyes were locked with hazel. Lily hurriedly glanced away. "Apology accepted," said James, smiling his lazy boyish grin.

It was more than a little awkward in the next few moments.

"Anything _you_ have to say?" asked Lily pointedly.

James laughed and puffed out his chest. "Nope. No apologies from the great James Potter!"

The next thing he knew, a filthy rag was thrown at his cheek. "Hey!" he yelled.

"That's what you get, you git!" Lily said, though it was more playful than angry.

James threw his rag at her. Laughing, they tossed the cloths back and forth. For a while, they forgot that they were supposed to be enemies. For a while, they forgot who they were friends with, and they even forgot why they hated each other. Later, Lily would blame this brief excursion on her guilt for hexing Potter; James, on the other hand, being as arrogant as he was, would later think that she was infatuated with him.

In any case, they had fun. Though they would never admit it, even to themselves.

**Meanwhile, kinda:**

Professor Pereguinn was completely pissed off. Not only was he covered in cheese fondue and was forced to stand in a tiny House Elf kitchen for half an hour, but he was missing a detention. Just great. How were his rowdy students supposed to get disciplined when he was _absent_ for half of the punishment? He was on his way to simply deliver a letter—_deliver a letter—_and he ends up being drenched in ridiculously orange dairy. He didn't even like cheddar.

"Terribly sorry, sir," croaked a House elf, as she arrived with a mop. "The ghost Peeves must've gotten a hold of the cheese."

Pereguinn grunted. "Is the mop clean?"

"Clean enough, master."

"Get to it, then."

And so the elf began to rub Pereguinn all over with the smelly mop, in effort to get off all the piping hot cheese Peeves poured over him. Unfortunately for Pereguinn, he couldn't simply just do a cleaning spell– Peeves had effectively swiped all the wands in his possession-Lily's, James's, and the Professor's wand as well.

"Had you come here for something, master?"

"Yes. I was on my way to give some important files to Professor Dumbledore," replied Pereguinn. Vital files. Files regarding the Order of the Phoenix. Files now drenched in cheese.

Pereguinn dared to take a whiff of himself and almost sobbed (he was a very clean man). It would take weeks to get the stink out. "Couldn't you just fetch a witch or wizard to get off all this—_gurpherrghh_," said Pereguinn as the elf started to scrub his face with the now very orange mop.

"Sorry, master. Strict rules. House elves should not leave kitchen. A shame, really. I've seen Dumbledore fix pree-dicaments like this with a swish of his wand."

"Then I'll go to him right away," said the Professor. Might as well kill two birds with one stone by giving Dumbledore the files _and _getting cleaned.

"NO!" cried the elf.

"No? What do you mean, no?"

"Elfie ordered to keep carpet clean! Elfie must obey!" She pointed to an ornate carpet outside the kitchen. "Professor very cheesy! Cheese drips on floor! Elfie must not let Professor go on carpet!"

"Well, I am sorry, Elfie," said the Professor. "I must see Professor Dumbledore immediately!" The whole time he was thinking, _Elfie. Now, what kind of uncreative nincompoop assigned the name Elfie to a frickin' House elf? _

Elfie suddenly dropped to the floor and wrapped her arms around his legs. "What the—?" began the Professor.

"NOOOOOOO!" wailed the ingeniously named elf. "Please, master, please! Don't make Elfie punish herself! DONNNN'TTT!"

"ALRIGHT!" shouted the Professor. "Just _please _let go of me!"

"Oh, much thanks, master! Much thanks!"

"JUST. LET. GO!"

"Immediately, master, immediately," said Elfie hurriedly. She picked up the mop hesitantly. "Should I—?"

"YES. JUST CLEAN THIS MUCK OFF OF ME. NOW!"

"Immediately, master!" exclaimed the elf.

* * *

Lily and James glanced up suddenly as the Professor stepped back into the classroom. The detention he was supposed to be patrolling was more than half over, and, honestly, the two completely forgot about him. THey decided not to comment, as his clothes seemed damp for some reason and he looked extremely annoyed.

"My apologies," Pereguinn said, straightening his tie. "I became…sidetracked. I trust you two had no discussion whatsoever?"

"Yes, Professor," the two chorused. Then Lily hesitated and said, "Uh…Professor, you seem a bit orange."

"I can deal with it quite well, thank you, Miss Evans," snapped the Professor, striding to his desk, and she shut up promptly.

When the detention was nearly over, Pereguinn stood from his desk wearily and said, "I'm afraid I've lost possession of your wands, as well as mine. They're in the hands of the ghost Peeves, but you shouldn't worry, and I shall retrieve them from him as soon as I can."

Lily was distraught, James, however, barely seemed worried at all. "Very well, Professor," he said. "I hope you may find your wand."

"Yes. Thank you. You may wash your hands and be dismissed."

Lily obeyed gratefully and was soon walking out of the room, the freedom feeling immensely satisfying. "You look like you've been released from Azkaban," noted James.

"Well it has been my first detention," said Lily.

James stopped in his tracks. "What? Your _first_? Honestly?"

Lily rolled her eyes and kept walking. James caught up to her. "I should've known, really, but..._wow. _Your _first_ detention!"

"And how many detentions did _you_ have before this?" shot back Lily.

He shrugged. "A squid wouldn't have the tentacles to count."

"I'm sure you're proud of that."

"I am."

...

"You totally lucked out for that detention," James noted.

"Really?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, Pereguinn usually assigns you to some sort of labor, but c'mon: he wasn't bloody _there_ for half of it."

"Yeah. I guess you can't get better than that," Lily admitted.

"Of course," said James, "since I was there you really _can't _get any better than that..."

_Wack. _Lily swung her knapsack and effectively struck James back several steps.

"What the...that thing's heavier than a Bludger!" James complained.

"Oh, I'm _sorry, _I thought the great Potter never felt pain."

"I didn't."

"You said ow."

"I said it because I could."

James suddenly stopped again as Lily turned into a dark corridor. "Hey..._hey!_" he shouted. "Where're you going?"

"I need to find Peeves," Lily called over her shoulder. "How else am I supposed to practice for Charms tomorrow if I don't have my wand?"

"Wait!" James ran to catch up with her again. "You don't need to do that! Who knows what Peeves could do to you?"

"I need my wand, Potter!" screeched Lily, and suddenly their amiability vanished. "You can come with me and get yours, too!"

James wrung his hands. "If you'd just wait a minute..."

"Hey James!" said a voice behind them.

Lily turned and shrieked a bloodcurdling scream when she saw Sirius, Peter, and Remus standing right behind them. "Wha-how-when-?"

The Marauders laughed and Sirius held out a wooden stick to James. "Here's your wand, mate." He gave a second one to a shell-shocked Evans. "Here's yours."

It took a while for Lily to process the information. "So - so, _you guys _pretended to be Peeves and stole the wands from Professor Pereguinn!"

"Well now, _that _took a while for you to figure out, didn't it?" said James cruelly, and Peter and Sirius laughed. All and any respect Lily gained of James that evening immediately evaporated, and all it left was a scowl.

"Hey, _I_ didn't think of the plan," said James, raising up his palms at her glare. "I didn't tell them to do anything!"

"But they're your friends! You knew that they'd have some revenge against the Professor and you didn't do a darn thing to stop them. It is basically your fault. That's"-she searched for words-"that's just mean."

James started to laugh long and hard again, but stopped abruptly to glower at someone arriving from the opposite end of the corridor. "Well if it isn't Snivellus," he mocked, as Severus Snape appeared in the light.

"What's going on, Lily?" asked Severus, looking suspiciously back and forth between James and Lily.

"Nothing, Sev," assured Lily. She turned to James, who had his wand raised. "If you do anything to him, you know, the typical Potter _boorishness_," she threatened, "I swear I'll hex you till you cry for your mum -"

"Oh, you wouldn't need to do that," snarled James. "Snivellus here is up to his _ears_ in the Dark Arts - just wait, one day he'll show you all the things he's been learning from his Slytherin friends-"

Lily cried out indignantly. "Severus does _not _do Dark Magic."

"Then tell me: what was he doing back in the dark place of the castle, with the ghosts and the dungeons?" shouted James, gesturing toward the black recesses of the corridor-the place he didn't want Lily to go. "Never took a glance at the books he reads, I s'pose-"

"You've been spying on us!" Lily cried.

"I wouldn't spy on you!" said James, his face feeling hot. "It's _him_ I'm watching_ - you're_ the goody-two shoes!"

"Sev, come on, we're leaving!" yelled Lily suddenly. She then went around the rest of the Marauders, shot a glare specifically for James, and walked away.

**_The Deathly Hallows, page 665:_**

_"You're that Snape boy! They live down Spinner's End by the river," she [Petunia] told Lily, and it was evident from her tone that she considered the address a poor recommendation. "Why have you been spying on us?"_

_"Haven't been spying," said Snape, hot and uncomfortable and dirty-haired in the bright sunlight. "Wouldn't spy on _you _anyway," he added spitefully, "_you're _a Muggle."_

_Though Petunia evidently didn't understand the word, she could hardly mistake the tone. _

_"Lily, come on, we're leaving!" _

* * *

"The arse," swore Lily as she and Severus walked to the library.

"Forget about them, Lily," said Severus.

"Forget about them?" cried Lily. "He accused you of practicing Dark Magic!"

She steamed for a while longer, and Snape wondered briefly if a ginger's hair got even more red when they're mad. Finally, she said, "You're right. They don't mean anything."

"That's the way to go."

"You're ten times the wizard _he'll _ever be, Sev."

Severus blushed, mumbled a "thanks", and Lily opened the library door. "Probably so high and mighty 'cuz of his new girlfriend," she whispered.

"Who is it again, Jeanne?"

"Jeannette. Popular paired with popular." Lily shook her head and smiled meanly. "They won't last a week."

**It was two weeks and three days, actually. :)**

**Asterisk time! *: Is there a couple name for James and Lily? I know it'd be a combination of the two names but I can't think of one that doesn't sound ridiculously idiotic. Jilly? Lame?**

****: Just in case, a Walkman is an extremely outdated device before iPods and MP3s came to be. Obviously since Lily was born in the 1970s something, it is an accurate time. or at least that's what Wikipedia told me. **

**So yes. Please review and go to the poll on my profile. BYE!**

**_O me miseram, _  
~mysterywings**


	7. Summer

_Chap. 7_  
**S u m m e r**

The sun rose quietly on the misty, tranquil world. Its rays shined through silhouettes of trees and buildings. The sweet chirping of birds began, softly. Suddenly, without warning, the sun made a mighty leap into the sky and evaporated the morning dew with its blazing heat. The sky became a startling blue.

Moments later, a beam of sunshine shone through the small gap in a pair of curtains into the bedroom of Lily Evans.

**Hi guys. Chapter song: Here Comes the Sun – Beatles. ;)**

**So…*laughs nervously* long time, wasn't it! *dodges tomato* Alright, alright! But many factors were out of my control! Number one, I did NOT ask my dad to trip over the cord of my sister's laptop computer when she visited from her college, which made the computer fall and break. And so guess whose laptop was used in replacement for two months? That's right—mysterywings's! And so now you see why I couldn't update. Ah, I missed you guys, though.**

**Anyway, I hope this little paragraph isn't too interruptive. Again, sorry. Let's move on before I start rambling. Oh wait, another notice: this chapter may be a little slow, since it's summer and they're not at school. But I fear that the characters in this fic are a little shallow, so I'm trying to expand on a few characters in this chappie. And if someone thinks any character are Mary Sues or OOC, notify me immediately. My feelings won't be hurt! I have feelings of steel! (reaches for tissue box). Enjoy!**

The beam of sunlight fell on the face of Lily and pried open her tired eyes. She blinked her eyes uncomfortably to the white-hot light and sat up from the hard floor, stretching her stiff back. She smirked at the sight of Alice in a sleeping bag beside her own, still fast asleep. The two girls decided to both sleep on the ground the previous night, just for fun. "Wakey wakey," cooed Lily, shaking the blonde girl as hard as she could, as all good friends do.

Alice mumbled unintelligibly for a moment, eyes still sealed shut, then muttered, "I don't want to go to Potions, Lily. Can you tell him I feel sick…"

"You're not in Hogwarts, silly," said Lily, "you're at my house." She promptly stood and opened the window curtain wide. "It's summer!"

The next fifteen minutes consisted of trying to control Alice's bad case of bedhead, which Lily attacked with brush and comb. Finally, after what I'm sure would be a very entertaining hair montage, Alice opened her aquamarine eyes to see, to her relief, her blond hair combed very neatly, falling just below her chin. "Thanks!" said Alice, a bit sheepishly. "I was always lazy about combing my hair."

"No problem," said Lily, observing her work with pride.

"We could've gotten this done much faster with a spell…"

"…Or if Petunia handed over her detangler."

"What is this detangler? Muggle magic?"

"Kind of." Lily took a lukewarm sigh. "I wish I had your hair sometimes."

"Me?" laughed Alice. "With all the tangles you just wrangled?"

"Well except that." Lily smiled. "Not many people are redheads, you know," she said, pointing her comb at Alice. "It was just another thing to make me different back at Breechwood—I mean, my Muggle school."

"Did you like your muggle school?" Alice inquired.

"Well enough. My grades were fine, but sometimes I felt like I belonged…someplace different. That's why I like Hogwarts so much better. Let's go eat breakfast. Race ya!"

So they sprinted down the stairs with much laughter and arrived in the Evans's kitchen, breathing hard. "Hello girls," Lily's mother, Elizabeth, said warmly. "Would you like something to eat?" "Mmm, sausage!" said Alice, taking a deep whiff, relieved that muggle food wasn't very different from the food she was used to.

"Would you girls like toast with this?"

Alice said she would like it very much, so Lily took two slices of bread and placed it in a strange contraption. She watched in wonder as the insides of the machine – a box with two slits for the bread – grew red hot and then…

"Eek!" cried Alice, taking three steps back as the bread were ejected out of the box with the loudest _POP_!

"It's just a toaster, Al," said Lily, choking with suppressed laughter.

Alice, who was ducking, peeked upward. "Is it safe?" she peeped.

"Nothing to fear," said Elizabeth, who barely batted an eyelash, extracting the steaming toast from the toaster. "See? It's toasted nicely."

Alice took a bite, cautiously, and decided she liked it. Even though she approached all toasters with caution.

* * *

Later she and Lily donned their swimsuits and walked to the public swimming pool. They were about halfway to their destination when they were forced to stop for a rest on a bench—the asphalt was hot and they forgot to wear shoes, so they hopped nearly the whole way there.

"This is a nice neighborhood," noted Alice, looking around at the neatly trimmed hedges and flower gardens.

"Mhm. A lot of people from my old school lived here. Well…a lot of Petunia's friends"—Lily stood from the bench—"Let's keep moving."

"What's muggle school like?" asked Alice curiously as they hopped across the sidewalk.

"Well, there's arithmetic, science, English, Social Studies, and –"

Alice laughed, unexpectedly.

"What's so funny?"

"Just sounds so different from Hogwarts," answered Alice.

"Didn't you learn your numbers?" asked Lily, sounding a little appalled.

"Oh, my parents taught me. The Ministry mails these little booklets to all the Wizarding homes so we can learn—we tell our neighbors I'm homeschooled," said Alice, "which is true, in all aspects. English comes easily enough, of course. We learn enough science and History to get by in the muggle world…"

"That's cool!"

"I think we're here, Lils!"

"Oh yes, we are!" said Lily brightly, stopping short at a gate. "Wow, I felt like I haven't been here in…in a whole school year."

The pool was cool and refreshing; the two friends then stopped for lunch, then finally headed back to Lily's house. They were passing the same neighborhood they stopped at when the trouble started.

"Hey you, ginger – aren't you Petunia's sister?"

Alice turned and looked to see who had spoken. They were two girls on the front step of a house painting their toenails a pink color. Alice saw Lily flinch.

"Yeah," Lily answered, "I am."

"Oh!" said the other girl in a tone pleasant enough for Alice to believe, for a moment, that these girls weren't going to give them trouble. "How was reform school?"

It wasn't hard for Alice to piece together the meanings of the two words "reform" and "school" and conclude that it was close to the reputation of Azkaban.

"I don't go to reform school!" snapped Lily.

"Woah," said the first girl, raising her hands (also painted), "I thought they handled anger spazzes in your school."

"It's not a reform school," Lily repeated.

"Oh really? What is it then?"

Alice knew Lily was stuck. Revealing anything about Hogwarts would lead to expulsion. She watched her friend search desperately for the right words. "A…a special school."

The girls hooted with laughter. "A special school, even better!" they mocked. "You need a special school for 'special' kids, right?"

Lily looked infuriated, but anything she said could only make things worse. Alice would not stand this. "Hey!" the blond snapped. "Lily gets top grades at our school. And only the very best can be enrolled there."

The girls raised their eyebrows skeptically. "And who are you?"

"I'm Lily's friend from her school."

"Oh," said one of the girls, suddenly talking a lot more slowly. "Is. It. Fun. There?"

Alice knew she was being teased, but she responded, "Yeah, it is. You could only _dream _to get into this school if you really understood what it's about."

"And what is it about, exactly?"

Lily intervened. "Look. Just because I'm not at home for most of the year, why would you make up such a terrible lie?"

The girls looked at each other, then snorted. "We didn't make it up. Your sister Petunia _told _us."

Lily looked as if she'd been slapped. "What? Petunia?" she whispered.

"She told us everything. The letter, the lunatic who visited your house to enroll you, and all that rubbish! She said it was a school for freaks."

"Lily, I think we should go," Alice interrupted suddenly (perhaps too late).

"I agree. I'm not going to waste any more of my time."

They walked away briskly, hearing the girls' laughter all the way to the end of the block. Once they were a reasonable distance from the wretched scene, Lily suddenly said, "Al, please listen. Not all muggles are like that. Honest."

Alice nodded. "My parents say that no one can blame muggles – some are mean because they are ignorant, and wizards _choose _to keep them ignorant. It's better that way. Besides, some wizards wouldn't give anyone the time of day either."

"Right. I just can't believe…my own sister…" Lily's fist clenched and she started to tremble.

"Lils! Petunia is just so jealous that she had to pretend you were someplace horrible. Are you crying?"

"I'm not," said Lily in a very steady, non-crying voice. She was shaking from anger, not tears. Two years ago, before Petunia's disownment and her Slytherin experience, then yes, Lily would presently be sobbing her eyes out. Last October, when Lily was brutally mocked in Potions, she promised herself she would never cry if someone hated her for being muggle-born. Or hated her for being a witch.

* * *

"Blimey," said James, nose-to-nose with a House-elf. A shrunken House-elf head, that is. Which was on a plaque mantled to a wall, along with dozens of it.

"Yes," said Walburga Black pleasantly, squeezing James's shoulders. "They were all collected for over dozens of generations in the Black family."

James glanced around the very house the family lived in. With its ornate carpets, chandelier, troll-leg umbrella stand, and several stories of richly decorated rooms, James had to admit that 12 Grimmauld Place was close in wealth to his own. He couldn't wait to explore the ancient house, but he wouldn't have to – Sirius's mother was giving him an exclusive tour.

Walburga – or Mistress Black, as she asked James to call her – was simply delighted that James was to be a guest to the House of Black. Sirius said a lot of crap about his family, but James thought that Sirius must've been exaggerating about this woman. She seemed like a very caring host, though she called James a "proper pureblood influence to Sirius".

James turned back to the House-elf plaques, trying not to portray how odd he thought the decoration was. "Nice."

Sirius, who had trailed behind them, coughed. Loudly. "Mother, if you could excuse us from this tour –"

"But we've only seen the first floor!" exclaimed his mother.

"One floor too many," huffed Sirius.

"_Sirius Orion Black_…" hissed Walburga in a voice that gave James the heebie-jeebies, though he never would've admitted it. She locked her son in a cold stare then finally said, "Fine. You may take James to your room. We can finish showing him around when you've got your manners settled."

Sirius rolled his eyes and led James up the stairs. "Sorry about my mum," whispered Sirius with an exasperated look once they were out of earshot.

"No problem, mate."

They went up another flight of stairs to the third floor, where there was a door with the nameplate _**Sirius**__. _Sirius swung the door open to reveal a large room with velvet-curtained windows, candle chandelier, a bed, and a wall covered in posters and photos. James noticed four pictures of Sirius, Peter, Remus and himself hung there. There were other various posters and things stuck to the wall as well, but the largest held the Gryffindor crest, its gold and scarlet banners rippling, and the lion opening its jaws with a roar.

"A Gryffindor poster? You're parents were okay with you putting that up there…?"

James remembered well the reaction of Sirius's parents after they discovered Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor. Sirius rarely ever wrote to his family, which was why Regulus, his older brother, notified the Black family instead. His parents were so infuriated that _somehow _their son broke the sacred Black Slytherin legacy that Sirius was close to packing his bags and transfering to some Durmstrang Academy, if it wasn't for the persuasion of Albus Dumbledore.

"Absolutely not," said Sirius with a grin. "Mum nearly had a coronary when she saw it. Of course, I put a Permanent Sticking Charm on it…"

James could picture the chaotic scene perfectly: Walburga demanding the poster to be torn down, the father coming in and shouting at the top of his lungs, Sirius's older brother Regulus trying to remove the poster, Sirius rolling on the floor with wild fits of laughter.

"I can just imagine the fun," James grinned.

"Well, the aftermath wasn't so fun," Sirius admitted, looking back at the poster. "But…what's done is done. Not much you can do about a Sticking charm." Turning back to James, Sirius asked, "Did you bring the Animagus books here?"

James felt ashamed at the mere mention of the word "animagus". Though the Marauders tried hard, the Animagi process proved more challenging than they thought. And much to Potter's dismay, by the time the end of the school year rolled around, the posse was still in the early preparatory stages of Animagi. "No," said James. "I left them at home. I figured that it'd be best if all three of us – you know, Peter, you and I – did it together, at the same time."

Sirius shrugged. "Whatever you say. Just don't get tempted to go ahead or anything. Wouldn't want you prancing into Hogwarts looking like…like whatever animal you are."

James frowned. He could tell Sirius was wondering what his Animagus was. James was no different. He hoped he'd be something awesome, like a lion. Or maybe he was just thinking that because of the Gryffindor poster in the room.

Suddenly, the door clicked open and Regulus stood at the doorway. Sirius scowled. "What do you want?"

"It's time for supper."

"Just because you won't let anyone into your room without permission doesn't mean you can barge into mine."

"Well boo-hoo. Hurry up. You don't want to make everyone wait."

* * *

The dining room was soon filled with people, House elves, and the delicious smell of food. As silverware was laid, James noticed a cabinet with ornate china and the Black family crest, which said _Tojours Pur _*.

What James noticed right off when they began eating was how stiff and formal everyone was. Even Sirius, who had manners of a boar, seemed – James could barely believe it – _proper. _

After a while some conversations started around the table. James, lucky him, was interrogated about his family, hobbies, Hogwarts and just about everything by none other than Mistress Black. James was positive that Walburga thought he was a complete idiot, because James was in the midst of eating while answering her questions, and at one point some mashed potato dribbled out of his mouth, so that didn't go well.

When supper was finally closing, Regulus, who sat next to his father, Orion, asked, "Have you seen the _Prophet_ today, dad?"

"Indeed I have," Orion replied while cutting the last of his steak. "Remarkable news."

"What happened? Did the Chudley Cannons win?" asked James, mouth full.

Orion laughed. "See for yourself, my fine young lad!" Sirius's father called a House-elf to bring the _Daily Prophet _and handed it to James, who read the headline.

**DEATH EATER REBELLION RISING.**

"That's right!" James half-heard Orion say as his eyes moved down the horror-filled article. "You-know-who's army. A dozen attacks on muggles and blood-traitors…"

"Serves them right, it does," said Walburga, seeming to pale at the mere mention of the word "muggles".

As Orion went on and on, James thought of all the muggles he knew: the postman who delivered to his street and puzzled over why the Potters didn't have a mailbox; a grocery store man who was also a full-time prankster; a nice waitress at the Potter's favorite muggle restaurant, and even a close friend of James's mother was a muggle (who, of course, still had to be kept ignorant). There were dozens more, and countless muggle-borns he met from school. Dirk Cresswell, Mary Cattermole, Will Wesley, Mary Macdonald, Lily Evans…

"What about muggle-borns?" James blurted out, silencing the table. "Were they attacked?"

Orion raised an eyebrow. "When I said 'muggles' were attacked I implied mudbloods were too. Don't your parents ever talk about this to you…?"

"Mother, father, may we be excused?" Sirius asked suddenly, with good timing; James felt the urge to beat up Orion Black to a pulp…

"During this important talk?" said Regulus with disapproval.

"You may," said Walburga.

James felt like he was sprinting up the stairs to Sirius's room. Sirius closed the door behind them and locked it. "Relax," said Sirius, gripping his friend's arm. "You look like my mum after I smashed the chandelier in the entrance hall…"

"I can't believe…someone could ever say…could ever _think _things like that."

"I felt awful about it too," said Sirius glumly. "I'd strangle any of them if they wouldn't ground me for a million years…"

James laughed long and hard humorlessly. Then he sank into an armchair, wondering how he could survive living in this house for a whole week without hexing someone.

"Uh, look, I figure that my house is a little different from what you're used to, so I might as well just put it out there. The Black family," began Sirius, "is totally out of its mind."

"Well, okay, so they have some prejudice – make that a_ lot _of prejudice – but I wouldn't exactly say…"

"James," Sirius interrupted, "my mum and dad are _second cousins._"

"Whaa?" said James.

"I know! Do you know what that information does to a person? They almost didn't tell me that doing that is _not normal,_" said Sirius miserably.

"But why?"

"Can't you see? It's this damn pureblood mania. My family is insane about it! Marrying a muggle, muggle-born, so-called blood traitor, or halfblood will get you disowned. So if there's not a pure, 'respectable' person to marry, you marry someone from your own family. It's disgusting."

"So your family – they're deatheaters," whispered James.

"Well, no. But they sure love what they're doing. They say it's good that someone's finally trying to 'purify' the stain-filled society, and that once they do, the Black family – the purest and the most loyal – will get the most rewards…" Sirius smacked himself on the head. "Gah! Listen to me, talking like my dad! I'm not like them, James. You gotta believe me."

"I do," said James firmly. "I know you, Sirius, I'm not letting your family change what I know about you."

"Thanks. But James…if you weren't pureblood they'd kick you out of here stat. That's why I can't invite Remus here. Especially since, well, you know…" Sirius cleared his throat, "Well, basically, just stay on my parents' good side. We wouldn't want anything to get dangerous."

"Dangerous? Like what?"

Sirius looked at James like he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell him. "The Blacks have a long history with the Dark Arts," he said hollowly.

"Oh."

There was a long stretch of silence. "Well what are we waiting for?" asked James. "Let's pull some first-class pranks!"

Sirius did a double-take. "Didn't you hear me just say not to tick off my parents?"

"No, you said not to get on their bad side. They can't be mad at _me _if they don't find out who put itching powder in Regulus's pants."

Sirius grinned and began to plan their newest dastardly plot.

* * *

Two weeks later, Alice left Lily's house to travel to France with her family. Lily still received letters from all her friends. Chuckling as she wrote a reply to Leto's letter, Lily sealed her letter with an envelope and prepared to go to Severus's house. She entered his shabbier neighborhood, throwing a cautious glance over her shoulder once in a while. Finally, she knocked on his door (doorbell long dead), and her friend opened the door with a smile. "Lily! Another letter?"

"Hi Sev. And yeah. Here you go."

Sev placed the envelope near his owl's cage so he could send out the owl at night. "Would you like to walk outside?"

So soon they were strolling around an old playground, chatting about various things. Severus thought this was a very romantic moment, considering this was the very scene where they met, and decided this was a very good moment to act!

He cleared his throat. "Lily, remember that bush?"—he pointed—"That's where I was right before we first met."

Lily laughed. "I remember. It'd be pretty hard to forget. It's quite a good hiding spot, I might add. Someone could be hiding in there right now."

Severus opened his mouth. ready to explain that he loved her ever since that fateful day, and that he was dying to ask her out for forever, and he was about to ask the big question when a strange sound reached his ears – right from the very bush.

Lily gripped his arm. "What was that?"

"Probably some animal," said Severus dismissively. "Lil, I have to ask you something –"

The noise became more insistent; it sounded like a faint mewing. "Oh, I think it's in pain!" cried Lily, rushing over to the bush. Lily reached into the shrub, and, moments later, turned to Severus with her arms full of an adorable black kitten. "Oh Sev! Isn't it precious!"

Severus must've taken ten steps back. "It's a stray. It might be unhealthy."

"It's not a stray," said Lily, fingering the kitty's collar. "It must've been abandoned, it doesn't have an owner…" Lily hugged the cat to her chest, making it meow. "I'm keeping it. I can take it with me to Hogwarts. It'll be my first pet. Let's get it something to eat."

They walked to Lily's house, Lily cooing to the kitten the whole way there. Severus stayed close, portraying interest and excitement, but inside felt a bout of annoyance and frustration. He had, in his mind, a perfect setup, but this animal had just dashed his hopes of asking out Lily Evans.

* * *

When August was at full blast, the thought of school started to peter into the minds of all. Lily for one was excited. She was presently sitting on her bed, her old schoolbooks piled on her left and her new ones on her right. Lily's cat, Taneal, sat at the foot Lily's bed, playing with her new favorite toy: Lily's spanking new quills.

"Naughty Taneal," scolded Lily, lifting protesting cat and placing her on her pillow.

"Lily, have you seen my eyeliner?" asked Petunia, barging into the room.

"No, I haven't Petunia," said Lily in an exasperated tone, leafing through a textbook.

Petunia turned to leave, but then stopped short when she saw something. "What is _that?_"

"What's what?" asked Lily, looking around alarmed.

Her sister snickered and pointed a electric purple nail-polished nail. "Those _bathrobes_," she said, pointing to Lily's Howarts uniform draped over a chair.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Petunia, you know very well what my Hogwarts clothes look like ever since I started going there, so would you please bug off and stop _pretending _you're not jealous."

Petunia cried out indignantly, and ran off calling for their mother. Lily rolled her eyes again. She sure loved being home, but she was looking forward to Hogwarts.

Turning a page in her new Charms textbook, Lily found a rather handy hex that sent bees flying at your opponent. _Minor stings, yet effective for being extremely annoying, _the book said.

_I can't use magic at home till I'm seventeen, _thought Lily, as she read the technicals for the hex. She grinned suddenly. _But this would be a great spell to pull on Potter. _

**Have a great summer everyone.**

***_Tojours Pur _is French for "always pure". :/ All rights still to JK Rowling. **

**Thank you for all your wonderful reviews. As you can see, I decided to keep Regulus older than Sirius, but I recently learned that Regulus and Sirius are only a year apart agewise anyway. **

**Luv,  
~mysterywings**


	8. Coincidences

The next _**(it's actually the first)**_ exciting adventure in this saga regarding Lily Evans _**(eventually leading to the brief alliance with her sworn enemies)**_ all started with a spit-take.

"Students," Headmaster Dumbledore announced, as Lily raised her pumpkin-juice goblet to her lips. It was the Welcoming Feast to Evans's third year. She was glad to be with her friends again. "It's unfortunate to announce that all Defense Against the Dark Arts classes will be postponed for the next few days until we can find a new teacher in replacement for last year's Professor."

Lily spit out her drink. "What!" she cried, looking at the wide-eyed faces of her friends. "What about Professor Pereguinn?"

Shocked murmuring rippled through the tables. Dumbledore cleared his throat; Lily and her friends leaned forward for more information, but he then started to talk about curfew and the banning of magical explosives.

The four girls turned back towards each other, questions glittering in their eyes. Tullia was about to open her mouth to say something when two hands clamped hard onto her shoulders. "What's up?" asked the tall Asian girl standing behind her, with a lot of eye makeup.

"Jade," hissed Tullia, looking back and up at her older sister. "What are you doing here? Dumbledore is giving announcements."

Lily felt Jade's gaze brush over her critically. "So these are your friends?" Jade asked. "You never introduced me."

Lily knew that was true, but it wasn't as if she'd introduce _her_ best mates to Petunia if she could avoid it.

"You're going to get yourself in trouble. Dumbledore is giving announcements," repeated Tullia.

"First of all, I'm prefect now," smirked Jade. Tullia scowled, which Lily rarely saw her do. "For all _they_ know"—Jade tilted her head to the table full of staff—"I'm just reminding my little sister about some sisterly concern. Secondly, I feel as if you're not listening to Dumbledore at all in the first place."

Tullia lowered her eyes guiltily, as did the other girls. "We have a lot on our minds," she said. "We're concerned why Professor Pereguinn isn't at Hogwarts anymore…"

"Oh don't worry your little head about it," scoffed Jade. "Pereguinn hated most of us anyway, and DADA teachers haven't stuck around for more than a year since, well, forever."

"Really?"

"Well, not literally. But rumor's been going around that ever since Dumbledore refused a guy named Tom Riddle, a jinx has been placed…"

"Oh please," said Tullia. "We don't have time to listen to this…"

As the two argued, Lily muttered, "But I still wonder what could've happened to the Professor…"

* * *

"I wonder what could've happened to old Pereguinn," mused James Potter that night as he unpacked his stuff for his dorm.

Remus frowned. "He was very serious about his job. I can't imagine him just, you know…_leaving_."

All of this bothered James. Sure, Pereguinn was harsh, but he taught James so many wicked (not literally) spells. Truthfully…DADA had become his favorite class. "Anyhow," James announced. "I think we should get to the bottom of this."

"I second it," declared Remus, who actually _liked _the Professor.

"I third it," piped Peter.

"Fourth," said Sirius with a grin. "We've only pranked him once, for Merlin's sake! That's about three-hundred times too few."

* * *

The next morning, Lily quickly scaled up the steps to the Girl's dormitory to talk with her friends, dressed and ready for her first day of classes. The whole way up she could hear Leto shouting: "_NO!_ I don't want to go to bloody classes! Now let me sleep—_close_ those curtains, for Merlin's sake, or else I swear I'm going to hex you all…" There were several strings of swearing. Leto was not a morning person.

Lily burst into their dorm excitedly, waving a stack of papers in her hand. "Hi guys! Guess what I got?"

"Lils, where were you?" asked Alice. "You weren't here when we all woke up this morning."

"My cat Taneal woke me up early," answered Lily. "So I got dressed, went to the Great Hall…and picked up our schedules!"

Tullia grabbed one of the parchments eagerly and sighed in relief. "Oh Lily, you're a lifesaver. I was worried about not having enough time to figure out my schedule, especially with all our new electives! Let's see…"

Before the end of the last school year, all the second years chose two or more electives for the third year ahead. Lily decided that she might as well take an extra elective, so she chose Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, and Divination. Tullia was taking three electives too: except that she decided to take Ancient Runes instead of Creatures. This decision made Leto happy, because she was taking Divination and Ancient Runes as well – Alice was the only one in the group who was taking Muggle Studies ("because I want to learn how those toasters work," she said). Alice was also enrolled in Magical Creatures.

The girls scanned over her timetable. Lily was quite happy with her schedule; she had several classes with her friends. The only troubling bit was a last-minute added note next to the subject name "Defense Against the Dark Arts": _Postponed until further notice. _

Lily's first class of the day was Care of Magical Creatures, taught by Professor Kettleburn. Evans never saw the Professor often, mostly because he lived in a small cottage outside of the castle, where he also taught classes.

Lily and Leto arrived near the cottage (it was more like a hut) as the sun's morning rays started to evaporate the dew on the lawn. As Kettleburn was inside the hut preparing himself for the day's demonstration, Lily observed many people she didn't recognize. "I'm glad you have the same class as I have," she whispered to Leto. "I don't know a lot of people here."

Leto pointed to a couple of boys. "I'm sure you know _them_ very well, Lils."

Lily looked at whom she was pointing at and scowled. James, Sirius, and Peter. Just great.

The three Marauders noticed Lily moments later. "Why hello Evans," said James, smiling mischievously. "Fancy seeing _you _here. We're going to have a great year together, don't you agree?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "A wonderful year indeed. But what I can't wrap my head around is how you three _somehow _ended up in the same class!

The three boys grinned from ear to ear. "Coincidence," they all said at the same time.

_Freaking robots, _thought Lily.

"I don't see why you're so upset," said Sirius. "It's not as if you're not with a best friend either." He gave a pointed look to Leto.

"Well that was an actual coincidence," Lily said sharply. "And it seems to me that you're missing one of your zombie followers."

"Oh, Remus would hate coming outdoors handling Snorkacks every other day. He's doing Runes, Arithmancy, and Divination, I think," said James.

"And what subjects do the rest of you have?" asked Leto.

"I'm taking Divination along with this," said Sirius.

"Same," said Peter.

"Pardon?" asked Lily.

"Same," repeated Peter. "I have the same electives as Sirius."

"What a coincidence," said Leto. Lily was impressed on the thickness of her sarcasm.

"It's not a coincidence," Pettigrew started to say.

"Shush, Peter!" said Sirius, but in a chiding way – as if they cared getting into trouble.

"I can't believe this!" exploded Lily. She turned on James. "And do I even have to _ask _which electives you happened to choose?"

James raised his hands and opened his mouth in defense when Professor Kettleburn emerged from the hut.

"Welcome, students!" he called out jovially. He lifted his arm in greeting – or, rather, he lifted _half _of his arm in greeting. The other half was missing, as was all of his left leg.

"Don't you all look excited?" exclaimed Kettleburn, leaning on his crutches. "Well, first and foremost, I would like to assure you that Care of Magical Creatures class is perfectly, perfectly safe!"

"Oh really," Leto muttered in Lily's ear. "I wonder how he lost a limb and a half, then."

"Must be another coincidence."

* * *

Next period Lily had Divination with Tullia. Potter was in that class too, but it pleased Lily when she noticed that none of the other Marauders happened to be scheduled with him.

Divination seemed a bit sketchy and based on mostly theoretical work, so Lily was relieved to go to Transfiguration, where everything could be supported by a textbook. Her relief was quickly wiped away when she caught sight of Potter in the same classroom again, talking with Remus. She took a desk as far away as possible from the molester and listened attentively as McGonagall called roll. Alas, James's name was called—he was not here by mistake. _Well_, thought Lily, _just a bit of bad luck. And another coincidence._

Lunch passed and Lily was ecstatic to go to Potions, where she'd see her favorite teacher, Professor Slughorn. Lily strode into the classroom, closing her eyes to breathe in the familiar scent of potion ingredients and elixirs. She opened her eyes to see…and soon all she could see was red.

Lily stormed over to where James was sitting, absolutely livid. "What is the meaning of this?" she fumed.

"What the…" James said in disbelief. "You're in this class, too?"

"Don't act surprised!" snapped Lily. "I know you must've done something to our schedules. It wasn't until now did I realize that your goal in life is to drive me to the loony bin!"

"Evans, Evans," said James, shaking his head back and forth. "Usually I would love to take the credit of such mischief, but I swear I didn't do a thing!"

"Impossible," said Lily. "How can you have four classes with me – _in a row_ – when you don't even take the same electives as me?"

"Which are…?"

"Magical Creatures, Divination, and Arithmancy."

"Ah. I see."

"I can't believe this is happening!" seethed Lily.

"I can," said James.

Lily ignored this comment. "And I still smell a skunk, Potter. Maybe after all the obnoxious pranks that you've done, you've forgotten you screwed up our schedules. It wouldn't surprise me a bit."

"For Merlin's sake, Evans, listen to me for once!" interrupted James. "Of course we have the same classes. We're taking the same exact electives!"

* * *

An hour later, Lily, James, and the rest of the Marauders were in the common room. Normally at this time they would have DADA, but since that was canceled, everyone, it seemed, chose to cram into their Common Rooms to socialize.

At that moment, Lily and James were frantically comparing their schedules. Well: Lily was more of the frantic one, James was more in disbelief.

"Are you sure? Are you sure?" demanded Lily.

"C'mon, Evans, this is the fifth time we've checked," James complained.

Lily groaned in despair. Remus looked at James questioningly. "Is it official?"

"Yeah," said James glumly. "We have all of our classes together. Every day, every week."

Remus looked sorry for both of them, and Peter shared James's melancholy mood. Sirius laughed. "Oh, sorry," he said between snickers when Lily and James glared at him. "It's just…tough luck, mate."

"I'll say," James replied. He glanced at Lily, who seemed completely depressed. _Merlin, _he thought. _Does she really have to make such a big deal out of it? _"It's bad enough that an extra someone is going to be breathing down my neck every single class. Now Evans has lost her speech!"

"Well, I'm not the jolliest person on earth at the moment!" Lily retorted. "This stinks. Why did you even sign up for those subjects, anyway? I thought…well…"

"You thought I didn't have the intellect to take three electives," James finished for her.

"Well – I didn't say that, exactly!" huffed Lily, as Sirius "_ooooh_"ed. "It's just that I didn't think you'd _care _about things like this."

James laughed long and hard. Lily crossed her arms and waited for his breath to peter out. Running his fingers through his hair to tousle it (_I really hate it when he does that, _thought Lily), he said, "Aren't you a smart witch. Magical Creatures and Divination are fine by me, but, honestly, I don't give an owl's pellet for Arithmancy."

"James…" said Remus with disapproval.

"Then why—?" Lily began to ask.

James shrugged. "My mum's an arithmantist. What can I do?"

Lily sighed. There wasn't much that _she_ could do, either. "I guess I'll just have to endure it—somehow."

"Aww, why the long face Evans? I'm sure this year'll be fun – for me, that is," James added, just to be a nuisance.

She shot him a look. "You better watch your back, Potter," she replied. "Remember that I can cast a good jinx, too."

Though it was degrading to admit it, James had to agree that it was true.

* * *

The rest of the week was one of the most obnoxious, grating, insufferable days of Lily's life. Potter annoyed her constantly. He always asked Lily for quills. He was loud and a class clown. In classes where she had enough ill luck to be seated next to him, he copied her notes. When Lily accused him of not paying attention and challenged his knowledge, he always came up with an annoyingly smart answer. It was awful.

And so it seemed like a benediction from above when it was announced on Friday that that weekend, the third years got their first trip to Hogsmeade.

On Saturday the girls woke up in a flurry of excitement, rushing around the dorm and rifling through their clothes for the perfect outfit. Eventually, Lily chose a brand new pair of dark-blue flare jeans with a lime green sweater. She put her red hair in a ponytail and was soon herded by a Prefect to the Great Hall, where the group of students departed.

Hogsmeade was simply wonderful. When Lily would later reminisce on the village, she would remember a mixture of pleasant sounds, cozy colors, laughs, and new tastes. Oh yes, there was a lot of tasting. There were so many candies and foods Lily never saw before that she didn't have time to try them all. She even tasted a Blood Pop; Lily nearly retched, though Leto, who could eat almost anything, laughed and bought a pack for herself.

Lily covertly purchased a little snow globe for Petunia, who was intensely jealous when Lily explained Hogsmeade to her parents that summer.

Then they approached the Three Broomsticks Inn. "Hey," said Leto in a low voice, "wanna sneak in?"

"What?" cried Tullia. "They sell alcohol in there. We're _underage, _we're below 18…"

"We won't _drink _anything, just have a look around," insisted Leto, eyes gleaming. "I've never been in a pub before."

"For good reason," muttered Tullia as Lily said, "It couldn't hurt to just go in."

They entered the building and took in the neat, cozy surroundings. Even Tullia's eyes flicked around curiously. "It smells like _Butterbeer…_" whispered Alice.

"Watch out," Leto whispered with glee.

"What? What's wrong?" Tullia asked with alarm.

Leto gripped her friend's shoulders. "Cute guy, 9 o'clock."

The girls all looked to their left and saw a young man with blue robes, brown hair, and a blinding smile at the bar counter, ordering a drink.

"He looks a bit older than us…" said Alice wistfully.

"A _lot _older," frowned Tullia disapprovingly. "We shouldn't be watching a stranger like this…"

"All right, _Mother_," said Leto.

"Tullia's right, guys. He's probably, like, five years older than us," said Lily. Then she added quietly: "But I wonder who he is."

"He looks like he could fresh out of Hogwarts," said Alice. "Maybe he's a visitor."

"Or a resident at Hogsmeade."

"He could work here," Lily pointed out.

"Or maybe he's a romantic young dragon slayer, who's seeking to find true love…"

"Come on, Leto, really?"

The girls finally managed to tear themselves away, still wondering who the mystery man could be. Unexpectedly enough, he was their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

* * *

"Um, hello," said the blue-clothed man the following Monday. The first DADA class all year.

Lily and James gave each other a questioning glance.

The new teacher cleared his throat nervously. "Well, I'm John Weslick. So, er, I guess you'll call me Professor Weslick. In Defense Against the Dark Arts I'll be, um, teaching you how to protect yourself against the Dark Arts."

James rolled his eyes like _no duh. _

"So, um, I guess I'll call roll."

* * *

"I hate saying this," confessed Leto a few nights later. "But Professor Cute Guy kinda sucks at his job."

"I miss Professor Pereguinn," Tullia moaned.

"I do too," said Lily miserably. "He was much better at teaching! Yesterday Potter kept a record of how many times Weslick said 'um'. Forty-eight times in an hour!"

"I can't believe Pereguinn would just leave us like that," Alice said. When the only thing that responded her was morose silence, she asked, "Do you think he really hated us that much?"

Lily didn't want to believe it. But not wanting to believe just made her feel needy and pathetic. So what if the Professor found a better opportunity somewhere else? So what if he was happier at where he was teaching now? Lily knew she should be glad for him.

Leto was not.

"Screw him! How could he just duck out like that? He has _students _here, people that depended on him! Was _Hogwarts_, the best Wizarding school in the world, not freaking good enough for him? I'd like to be where he is, right now, and give him a piece of my mind!"

"But we don't know where he is," said Alice.

There was a brief moment of silence as the four friends looked at each other, the machinery in their minds whirring. Finally, Lily said slowly, "Then why don't we find out?"

**Six days later**

Potions class. Lily was dutifully recording the ingredients for an elixir from the board, once in a while dipping her quill into her ink. James sat a couple seats away from her, aimlessly doodling, as were many of the other students. Professor Slughorn sat in the front of the room at his desk, grading an essay as he waited for his pupils to finish.

Suddenly the door banged open, and the students who were previously doodling immediately straightened up and started to fervently write down the elixir's ingredients. Professor McGonagall had entered.

She swept past the students and hurried to Slughorn's desk. "Minerva?"

"There's to be a meeting in my office, immediately after classes end," McGonagall said in a low voice.

Slughorn raised a busy eyebrow. "Hello to you too," he said. "May I ask what this meeting is about…?"

"It regards Quinton."

Lily's writing hand froze.

"Ah. I see," said Slughorn.

McGonagall left the classroom.

_Oh man oh man, _thought Lily. _I've got to tell the girls. _

Quinton was Pereguinn's first name.

James heard the conversation too.

* * *

"This her office?" whispered James to the rest of the Marauder gang, approaching a wooden door that hopefully lead to McGonagall's workplace.

"Positive," Sirius replied. "Remember when we had detention here? For putting those Gurdy Roots…"

"Oh, yeah."

"I can't believe we're missing Dinner for this," complained Peter.

"Shush, Pete," reminded Lupin. "James – you got a plan?"

"Yeah." He patted his satchel, which held the Invisibility Cloak. "We'll get nice and hidden, and then slip in when a teacher goes inside. We can't risk not hearing anything if they place a spell on the door."

"Okay guys, let's get this party started…" said Sirius, rubbing his palms together

"Wait a second…" said James, squinting at as four people–four girls—started to come into view.

**Moments earlier**

"I'm worried," whimpered Tullia, as she and her friends walked closer and closer to McGonagall's office.

"About what?" asked Leto.

"About getting in trouble!" Tullia exclaimed. "About getting – Merlin forbid – detention!"

Leto chuckled softly to herself.

"Guys, shush, we're almost there," frowned Alice.

Lily stopped suddenly. "Wait…"

At that moment, they spotted the Marauders, and the Marauders spotted them. James and Lily's gazes met – but not in that romantic, about-to-kiss sort of way. Hell no.

"What the hell are you doing here, Evans?" hissed James.

"What the hell are _you _doing here?" she hissed back.

"I asked you first!"

"Fine!" Lily threw up her hands. "We're trying to find out why Professor Pereguinn is not teaching here anymore, and there's a meeting in there that we want to hear."

"No way," said Sirius. "That's exactly what we're trying to do!"

Leto snorted. "Oh, yeah, like we believe that. Like it's just some wild _coincidence _that you are doing precisely what we're doing!"

"No, really," insisted Sirius.

"Most likely trying to pull off an obnoxious prank," Lily scowled.

"Why thank you, I'm glad I built up that reputation," said Sirius, pleased.

"Look, whether you believe us or not, you need to stay out of our way," said James, knowing their time was short. "_We _know what we're doing, whereas you…"

He let the sentence dangle, looking at the girls' lack of equipment with smugness.

"Hey! We know exactly what we're doing," cried Lily.

"Oh really?"

"Well…" muttered Tullia, but she silenced after Lily gave her a look.

"So what about _you _just get out of here…" Lily suggested.

"Oh ho. You think you can just ask us to leave…"

"Yes, Potter, I can!"

"Let me correct you on that: you can't."

"Maybe you're right, but I can surely **force** you out of here!"

_Merlin, isn't she feisty, _James thought with respect.

_Stubborn arse, _thought Lily.

"Uh oh," said Remus, eyes widening as an adult approached. "Teacher!"

* * *

"You totally ruined our plans!" James yelled as they marched up the stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"_Your _plans?" cried Lily. "If you weren't there to distract us, the Professor wouldn't have send us away and we would have _our _plans in effect—!"

"You had plans?" Potter asked scornfully.

"Of course we did."

"Like what? Crouch down near the keyhole and try to catch a few decibels? Did you even have some Extendable ears?"

Leto turned to Lily, who was blushing furiously. "He does have a point, you know."

They entered the Common Room. "Well, did _you_ have a plan?" Lily snarled.

"Of course," sneered James, not ready to reveal all of the Marauder's secrets. "A plan a hell lot better than yours."

As Evans and Potter ferociously attacked each other with accusations and insults, Leto had a hand on her hip, examining the four boys. After a long while she said, "All right, _Marauders. _If you really want to find out what happened to Pereguinn, prove it to us."

Sirius looked at the other three Marauders, as if asking for permission. After receiving a nod from all of them, he said, "We've been mostly eavesdropping on teachers' conversations. We know that wherever Pereguinn is at, the Professors are worried about him. They want to get him back as soon as possible, before it's too late."

"Too late for what?" asked Alice, intrigued.

Black shrugged. "We don't know. We're trying to figure that out too."

"But why?"

"But why what?"

"I thought you hated Pereguinn. Why do you care?"

"Probably for the same reasons you girls do," answered Remus. "It's not as if we haven't realized that Professor Weslick is...um..."

"A total moron," completed Sirius.

"Did you eavesdrop on any staff meetings?" asked Alice.

"Well, no," said Remus. "They always put an Imperturbable Charm on the door."

"A _what_?"

"Imperturbable Charm. It creates an invisible shield around a door so Extendable Ears can't get through."

"So having Extendable Ears wouldn't matter," said Lily, shooting James a look.

"We had a completely different plan," said James. "Before _someone _wrecked it…"

"Shut up!" shouted their friends, before they could rip each other's throats out.

Sirius looked at the girls. "And what exactly did you guys try to do?"

"We asked the teachers what happened to him," chimed in Tullia with an air of pride.

"What," said James. "You _asked _them?"

"Well…why not?"

The Marauders fell in a fit of laughter. Peter was practically rolling on the floor. "When will you guys learn?" asked James. "Teachers won't give you a crap. You'll have to find things out for yourself!"

"What are you talking about? We got numerous answers! I wrote them all down!" said Tullia defensively.

"Show them," nodded Lily.

Tullia jumped up from her seat on the floor and went up the stairs to their dorm. In moments she returned, waving a good-size stack of parchment. She spread them on the floor. "Here."

**Teacher Responses**

_Question 1: Where is Professor Pereguinn? _

McGonagall: He is elsewhere.

Slughorn: I'm afraid he won't be coming back, my dear Lily.

Sprout: He's not teaching here anymore.

Madam Pomfrey: Oh my! Don't ask that!

…

James stopped reading. "You guys didn't find out anything!"

"Hey!" protested Alice. "We worked hard on that."

"It would be better if we give them positive feedback first," suggested Remus. He took the time to scan over every page. "Your handwriting is very neat," he commented.

"Thank you," blushed Tullia.

"It's long," put in Peter.

There was a long stretch of silence. Suddenly, Leto said, "Girls, if we want to find out anything about Pereguinn, we need to team up with the Marauders."

Lily nearly fell over in shock. "Have you gone mad?"

"No way," said James, shaking his head wildly.

"They could be beneficial, actually," admitted Remus. The Marauders stared at him as if he was crazy. "Look, they have a much cleaner criminal record than we do. They have better teacher connections. They can help us."

James considered. "I suppose…"

"Woah woah," Lily protested. "We haven't agreed to anything!"

Leto gripped Lily's wrist. "Lils," she said, looking dead serious, "do you want to find out what happened to Pereguinn?"

"Yes, I do," said Lily miserably. "Especially now. He might be in danger…"

"Then it's settled."

"Alright," said Sirius, "Maybe we can set up a stakeout tomorrow night…"

"Not tomorrow night," said Remus, looking tired.

"Oh," said Sirius, "I almost forgot…"

"Forgot what?" asked Alice.

The Marauders exchanged a glance. Finally, James said, "Okay, now's the time to make the pact of secrecy."

"What pact?"

"It includes not telling on each other. No matter what any of us do, no matter how dastardly it is, you can't tattle, or else everyone else will tattle on _you _and they'll have every right to even make some stuff up."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Fair enough. We make the pact. Right, girls?" The girls all agreed.

"Woah, woah, that's not it though," said Sirius. "You see…us Marauders have our own ways, and just because we're agreeing to work with you guys doesn't mean we're gonna tell you all of our best secrets!

"And so you have to promise not to question our methods. That is all." _Like the Invisibility Cloak and Remus's furry little problem, _thought James, but he didn't say it aloud, of course.

"Okay, whatever, we promise," said Lily. And so the pact was made.

**Later**

"Team-wise," said James, when all eight of them were gathered together in the boys' dorm for their first meeting, "you girls are our eyes and ears. The teachers will most likely let something – you know, something like important information – slip when you're around. Around us Marauders, well, they're more careful."

"Few teachers would give me the time of day," Sirius muttered.

"So we're the eyes and ears," repeated Lily, hoping for clarification: "What exactly are you guys, then?"

"The strong arms and legs, of course," James boasted. "You know, the parts that do the _real _action."

"More like we're the eyes and ears and you're the arse," Alice retorted.

"She's right!" said Leto. "Us girls want to get more involved in this!"

Sirius leaned in towards her, waggling his eyebrows. "_I_ know someone you could get more involved in." Leto socked him hard in the jaw.

"My face," wheezed Sirius weakly, laying on the floor. He looked up to where Leto stood over him, fists ready for another blow, if necessary. "I thought girls slapped."

"Only sissies slap," explained Leto. "I punch."

"We'll figure something out so we'll all have a piece of the action," said Remus quickly, before any more carnage could be made.

"But we won't get a _lick_ of action if you girls don't pick up any news," James added.

Lily, Leto, Alice, and Tullia looked at each other, nodding. "All right then," announced Lily. "The sooner we find something out the better."

**Two days later**

"Goodness, the wind outside is cold," commented Professor Flitwick during Charms. Having just completed his lecture, Flitwick dragged a stool over to the open window of his classroom, climbed on, and managed to grasp the edge of the window to close it, just barely.

Alice Barnard was sitting at her desk, finishing her notes for the day. It was hard to concentrate. Gusts of air from outside pushed against the window, occasionally sending a leaf or something splatting onto the glass. Alice knew that if they were in a Muggle building, that the lights might flicker on and off in such weather, but Alice knew that the enchanted candles would not waver. She learned all about electricity in Muggle Studies. Muggles used it to power most everything, including toasters!

Suddenly, a huge _BONK _startled everyone out of their post-lecture state. Alice automatically looked at the window: nothing there. Then the sound came again: _bonk. _This time, she glimpsed an owl outside the glass, desperately struggling to stay aloft in the wind.

"Professor!"

Flitwick immediately hurried to the window and opened it to let the owl inside. This action blew out every candle in the room, plunging the students in darkness.

"Oh! Terribly sorry, everyone!" yelled the Professor over the wind, hurriedly pushing the window shut.

The owl hooted. _That's McGonagall's owl, _Alice thought. _From the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower. _

Alice couldn't see anything, but she heard the Professor unfold the paper that was previously held between the owl's talons, mutter a _lumos _charm, and started to read. His eyes immediately grew wide and anxious; he even took in a sharp breath – then he quickly laid the message on his desk and addressed his students again. "No need to panic! I will light the candles once more presently."

He went around the room, quickly re-illuminating the lights, but there was nervousness in his step and a jitter in his arm. When his back was turned, Alice took two steps towards his desk and quickly looked at the message.

_Meeting, DADA office, immediately after this class. __We have found his location. _~MM

Five minutes later, when Charms ended, Alice left the classroom, running as fast as she possibly could.

* * *

A few minutes later, after Alice had alerted the Marauders and her friends about the news, all eight of them were racing towards Weslick's office.

"Is that really what the note said?" Remus asked Alice.

"I saw it with my own eyes!"

"That means that the teachers had no idea where Pereguinn is before."

"What the hell? Aren't they supposed to know that kind of stuff?" demanded Leto.

There was a short silence.

"What are we going to do?" whispered Lily to the boys.

"Me and the guys are going to stick with what we planned last time…"

"You and the guys?" said Leto. "What about us?"

"Are you serious?" Black shot back. "We're about to find out what happened to Pereguinn and all you care about is getting ten minutes of adrenaline?"

"Shut up!" said Leto. "And I'm not serious, _you're _Sirius!"

"Sirius is right about this one," said Remus. "We don't have time to think of a new plan, so you girls will just have to be our lookouts, I guess. We promise to fill you in on everything we heard later."

"Actually Remus," put in James. "It might be best if you stick with the girls. The…_disguise _is not big enough for all four of us, and well…you know…"

Lupin knew the "disguise" spoken of was really the Invisibility Cloak. "Agreed," he replied. "Ladies, we shouldn't be too near the door, so we'll stay right over here…"

Remus turned the girls in the opposite direction for a nice stakeout spot. Lily glanced back over her shoulder to see how the rest of the Marauders were faring. They seemed to have vanished completely.

"Remus," Lily heard Tullia ask, "Why did James leave you out of the disguise they were planning?"

"The disguise can only fit three, so I'm with you guys because I'd seem less suspicious near a teachers' meeting." To Lily's surprise, Remus didn't seem upset at all. "For now we're just going to stay here and keep watch till they come out."

"Keep watch of what?" Alice inquired.

Remus didn't respond, because there was very little they could watch out for at all. So the four found a comfortable place to stand and chat, waiting.

* * *

Professor Kettleburn was running late for the meeting and raced into Weslick's office, not taking note that the door closed a bit more slowly than it should have behind her. It was extremely easy for James, Sirius, and Peter to sneak in.

John Weslick's office looked exactly what it looked like when Pereguinn was here, only without any personal touches – in other words, Weslick didn't decorate the room at all. There were, however, many messy piles of papers that looked suspiciously like student assignments.

Every Professor was there, even Albus Dumbledore. He was dictating the meeting.

"So you've tracked Quinton?" the Headmaster asked.

"Yes," reported McGonagall. "We managed to track his wand. There was a very weak signal in England, near a cave."

"Excellent, excellent. We must hurry to retrieve him."

"I will pack my things immediately, Headmaster," said Minerva.

"Oh no, Minerva," said Dumbledore. "I understand your concern, but it's clear that I myself must go, and I need a good headmistress in my place."

James was surprised and amused as McGonagall nearly gnashed her teeth in frustration.

"Flitwick and Slughorn," Dumbledore continued. "Can you accompany me?"

"Certainly," they both said.

Suddenly Weslick said, "Sh-shouldn't I, um, come?"

There was a moment of quiet. One teacher coughed in surprise. Dumbledore said kindly, "The students need to learn their Defense Against the Dark Arts. It would be difficult to find a replacement for you if you left."

John muttered an, "Of course."

Several minutes passed as papers (presumably maps) exchanged hands and they discussed traveling necessities. After a while, all the teachers gave their good wishes for the mission. Some were so heartfelt that James genuinely wondered if the old man would be coming back.

The meeting dispersed after that. After giving a signal, James and the others slipped out of the room.

Remus and the girls were quietly waiting beside a pillar when the rest of the Marauders came into sight, each boy looking grim.

_Uh oh, _thought Lily. _This can't be good._

* * *

The next morning, just like the meeting had foretold, Dumbledore, Slughorn, and Flitwick were gone. None of the students seemed necessarily concerned, except, of course, the eight students who actually knew what was going on.

Things were anxious between them. The Marauders asked the girls for news every day but there was not a peep about Professor Pereguinn among the teachers. Perhaps they were being more cautious, or maybe they had other things on their minds. Or it could be that they were anxious, too.

Days passed. Classes grew harder. McGonagall became moodier. Things got duller.

By this time, Lily learned how to discreetly pick up teacher conversations while simultaneously appearing to be focused on something entirely different. She managed to listen in on so many "secret" dialogues that it surprised her. Lily never thought that she would be good at eavesdropping, though her mother always she had "ears of a doe", or good hearing.

So on that particular day when she was walking down a hallway, Lily had no trouble hearing Pomona Sprout whisper to Professor Binns: "Dumbledore is back."

"Dumbledore," Lily mouthed to herself, not processing the meaning of it at first. Then she was racing to where she was originally heading: Potions, because, unfortunately, she knew James would be there too.

She swung open the door of the classroom, ecstatic to see Professor Slughorn. The substitute they had for the past few days was fine – but nothing compared to her favorite teacher.

But to her shock, the substitute professor was still there. No Slughorn. Lily gasped. If Dumbledore returned from his mission but Slughorn _didn't…_

Lily ran up to the substitute. "Excuse me," she said, dreading the answer, "is Professor Slughorn all right?"

"Oh yes," replied the replacement professor. "He returned to Hogwarts recently today."

"Then where…?"

"The trip was grueling. Horace is currently taking a rest. He should be back in action by tomorrow."

Lily ran the facts over in her brain. _Trip…grueling. Dangerous. What should I do now? Right: tell Potter._

Lily hurried over to James's desk and told him all she heard.

"This is great," responded Potter. "We might finally get some answers now. Keep your ears open."

"Naturally," Lily replied.

Potions ended. There were now only two more classes until dinner, when all of them could finally talk, yet the periods didn't seem to end fast enough.

Finally, when supper finally arrived: "Did you guys hear that Dumbledore and the others came back?" demanded Sirius, mouth full of turkey.

"We did," responded James and Lily at the same time.

"I would guess that the teachers might have another meeting today, to find the results of the mission," suggested Remus. "If they were successful, Pereguinn could be in the school at this moment!

"Good thinking, Reme. The matter is to find out _when _and _where _this meeting will be."

"And what if we don't figure that out on time?" asked Leto.

"We will," insisted James. He directed his gaze skyward and whistled, where a few owls circled to deliver various newspapers, magazines, and letters. With a seamless descent, an owl perched by her master. She was a beautiful creature, with plumage flecked with pepper and the overall color of warm caramel.

_The same color as James's eyes, _thought Lily. She quickly banished the thought.

Potter fished through his pocket and pulled out two Extendable Ears. He tied them together for extra length then allowed his owl to take one end and fly off, James still clutching the ear on his end.

They watched as the owl flew towards the Staff Table and a flesh-colored object dropped near Professor Vector, who luckily didn't notice the ear near her goblet.

Sirius whistled in admiration; James boasted, "Extra-distance Extendable Ears!"

The classmates huddled around the Ear and listened avidly. At first there was only the sound of chewing and clinking silverware, but then a voice emerged: "So the mission was successful?"

"More or less," responded Horace Slughorn. None of them ever heard him so weary. "All the details will be revealed this evening, during the—the gathering."

Someone clicked their tongue – a trademark of Septima Vector, professor of Arithmancy. "I can never remember any of Dumbledore's passwords—my attentions were never trained on candy…"

A different teacher leaned over to Septima and whispered the password, which unfortunately was not audible, but James pumped his fist. They knew that the meeting was going to be in the Headmaster's office, and that it was a time approximately after dinner.

They listened for a while longer, but no specific time was disclosed. Their time was short – the Great Hall was quickly emptying out, and soon there would be suspicions.

"How will we know when the meeting is?" asked Peter.

"We could have a stakeout near Dumbledore's office…" offered Remus, clearly not loving the idea.

"I know what to do," declared Tullia. The rest of the group stared in surprise as she approached her Ancient Runes teacher, who was getting ready to depart.

"Excuse me," she said. The Extendable Ear managed to pick her voice up – just barely. "Is there a time tonight when you can help with my Runes? I'm so worried for the test tomorrow."

"Oh, I'm sorry dear," the Professor replied. "I'll be busy grading essays until seven-thirty, and then who knows how long I'll be occupied!"

"Well, that's okay," said Tullia. "See you tomorrow."

In triumph, Tullia came back to their dinner table, where the gang was bursting at its seam with excitement. "That was brilliant, Tullia!" exclaimed Remus.

"Seven-thirty," repeated James. "That's a little more than half an hour to prepare."

"Then we better get started," remarked Alice. "And your plan better include us this time."

The Marauders exchanged a glance. "We'll see."

* * *

"This is insane!" hissed Lily Evans, minutes before the meeting began.

"Maybe it is."

"We have no idea what we're doing!"

"Correction: us Marauders know what we're doing, but you girls are kept nonethewiser," boasted Sirius.

"Potter, I demand you to stop right now and explain this plan of yours!"

"Evans, you just gotta trust us."

"Trust you? Trust _you?_"

James, who had been ignoring Lily for the past ten minutes because of her rant, finally turned his head to look her in the eye. It ended up like a staring contest, green eyes against hazel.

Lily suddenly felt her pulse race. _Alert, alert, _chimed a warning in her brain. She quickly glanced away.

The boys swiftly changed course, running down a long, unlit hallway, the girls in tow. "Hurry up! We're going to miss the meeting."

Finally, the Marauders stopped short at a mouse hole in the wall. To the girls' shock, Sirius bent down and reached his hand into the opening. There was a faint _click, _and suddenly many of the stones in the wall completely vanished, revealing a secret passageway.

"Don't tell me this goes straight to his office!" said Leto.

"Why don't you want to hear good news?" replied Sirius.

"Keep your wands lit," instructed Remus. " And follow us. Hurry, the stones will seal up again soon."

They went down the passage. After many twists and turns and sickening darkness, the tunnel finally ended in a small room. "Okay," said James. "When we open up these stones"—he rapped his knuckles on one wall—"we'll be looking from under Dumbledore's bookcase. Ready?"

After a nod from everyone, James – with some help from Sirius – grabbed the edge of one of the stones in the wall, and it swung open like a door on an invisible hinge, and suddenly they were looking right into the Headmaster's office.

It wasn't as great as a view as someone would think. Dumbledore was standing right in front of the bookcase. The only thing they could see was his dark blue robes, embroidered with moons.

"It was a hard, hard journey, as I have just told you," the Headmaster said, apparently finished retelling the mission. "But our work has its fruit – we have our Quinton back."

There was a splatter of applause. The students currently spying looked at each other with eagerness. The Professor was back! No more dull Mr. Weslick! But why wasn't Pereguinn talking?

"A noble man," continued Dumbledore, "not afraid of risking himself for the cause."

_Huh? What cause? _thought James.

"And even more so, a brilliant teacher, who would no doubt do anything to protect his students."

A teacher sniffled. What was going on here?

"And though we couldn't quite save Quinton from this disaster," said Dumbledore sadly. "He is safe from a much darker fate, a fate that includes a erroneous re-animation by Lord Voldemort. And, wherever Quinton is now, he is aware of our efforts, I am sure," finished the old man kindly.

Potter's mind was reeling. No—it can't be—

Dumbledore started to say something else, but his voice broke. So instead, he stepped forward and bowed at the foot of something—a casket. And inside the casket was something that would be seared into the children who were currently watching forever. Pereguinn, their wonderful teacher, laid in the blood-red velvet lining of the casket, eyes closed, beak-like nose pointing towards the sky. His face, though cleansed by the members of his funeral, still bore bruises and cuts of a terrible battle. Teachers around the coffin wiped their eyes with handkerchiefs.

"Look well, my friends. Quinton Pereguinn - who died bravely at the hand of Lord Voldemort's army this past summer, and will never be forgotten by his colleagues."

* * *

James closed the stone shut as soon as the corpse Pereguinn was revealed. Tullia immediately collapsed and started to sob hysterically. That seemed to set in the reality for everyone that this thing—this death—was real. It happened.

Soon everyone seemed to be tearing up. "I can't believe it! I can't believe it!" wailed Alice. Lily couldn't remember crying so hard since those Slytherins picked on her two years ago. Leto tried to soothe Tullia, though tears streamed down her own cheeks, which she furiously wiped away.

James suddenly developed an insistent sniffle. Sirius kept trying to swallow down the lump in his throat. Remus repeatedly wiped his eyes with the back of his hands; Peter whimpered.

Sirius said with a croak, "Should we keep watching the funeral—?" to which Lily shouted, "No! It's too terrible!"

It didn't seem right, it was utterly wrong, it was wrong beyond belief that Professor Pereguinn was dead. None of them slept easy that night.

**A/N:**

**Clarification: When the teachers of Hogwarts said they were going _retrieve _Pereguinn, they actually meant to retrieve his body, so Voldemort wouldn't turn his corpse into an Inferius. Plus, they wanted Pereguinn to have a proper funeral, considering that he died for the Order. **

**I didn't want to kill him!**

**Anyway, thanks a bunch for getting me past 20 reviews! Keep it up, guys and gals! Again, sorry for the wait. Expect next chapter when school starts (woot!). It's gonna be a fun third year at Hogwarts!**

**Best wishes,  
~mysterywings**


	9. Bludgers and Tricks

**Hm...it's been a while. I am a lazy duck. Plus I was stuck for a long time. Anyway, I hope this chappie pleases you. I'm kinda tired of long ones. :P **

**Also, I'm thinking about making some edits for the past chapters. Maybe a bit of cutting, better sentence fluency, stuff like that. I might even integrate part of last chapter into this one, since chapter 8 was so long. What are your opinions? REVIEW! **

_Chap. 9  
_**Bludgers and Tricks**

James enjoyed hearing people talk about him. Gossip over whom he snogged and what grades he got and how well he flew on a broom put a spring in his step. Envy and jealousy tickled him pink. A confession of love was his favorite.

However, just recently, James overheard a piece of gossip that he certainly _did not _like:

"Can you believe it? Lily Evans has all the same classes as James Potter," said Mitsy Yvonne, a Gryffindor.

"Ughhh," responded her Hufflepuff friend. "I'd _kill_ to be in her shoes!"

James, who had his ear pressed to the girl's lavatory door, smiled.

"They were spending a lot of time together," grumped Mitsy. "Just last week."

James's brow furrowed. Last week they were trying to find the whereabouts of Pereguinn. Of course they had to spend their company together.

"Oh? I thought they hated each other."

"Yeah, I thought that _too._ But with someone as hunky as James Potter, maybe she fell for him! And since he's around her a lot…"

The other girl gasped. "Oh my god. Then he likes her too! We've got to tell this to, like, everyone!"

James was so shocked that his mind refused to stop and think rationally, never mind start to consider if it was true. He grabbed the first thought that came to him: un-convince everyone that he liked Evans. And he knew two ways how to do just that. One, he could start dating a totally different girl. Two, he could do something terribly mean to Lily. He decided to do both.

**The Quidditch fields—let's switch characters briefly.**

To Sirius Black, making the Quidditch team meant a lot more than getting exercise.

Yeah, it was a wickedly exciting sport, and he loved nothing better than whacking a Bludger with all his strength, but there was an extra reason, too.

Sirius did not like being a Black. At home, he was too much of a Gryffindor. At school, people compared him to his family. Wasn't that why Concepta had doubts about him in the first place? Isn't that why whenever stories about the Death Eater's rebellion showed up on the Prophet, students looked accusingly at him?

Getting on the team meant he played for the GRYFFINDORS. Only for them, all for them. He doubted that things would be perfect if he got in (especially when his parents hear, what a hilarious thought), but things would be a hell lot better. Luckily, this year things seemed to be going his way: Concepta favored him considerably, Sirius honed his skills during the summer, and the only new competition he had, he presumed, were some wide-eyed second years. Sirius chuckled to himself as he walked onto the field with James.

And suddenly he was standing slack-jawed, completely unprepared for the person he was seeing.

Leto was there. Leto, a part of Lily Evans's goody-two-shoes group—only Leto was the not-so-good one. _She_ was the one that always went out of her way to wound Sirius' pride. And there she was, her black-and-white hair floating in the wind, a broomstick in her hand.

"What the hell are you doing here!" he exploded.

She raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that sound familiar," Leto remarked. _**(You know? Last chapter? When the Marauders saw Lily and her friends…never mind.)**_

"Well?"

"Hey, I got a broom last Christmas, I practiced a lot during the summer, and I feel like trying out. Got a problem with that?"

"So you started to play just this summer? You'll never get in."

Leto's chin rose defiantly. "I first learned when I was four, okay?" Sirius's heart sunk. That's when he started to be taught. "I quit it for a while, but now I've started up again."

"What position are you trying for?" _Please don't say…_

"Beater. Why?"

_Sh-_

"All right, let's get this try-out started!" announced Concepta. "We already got a Keeper"—she smiled at Vetch York—"so we'll get started with Beaters."

_Clear head, strong arms. Forget about Leto, _chanted Sirius in his head as he soared into the air. The problem was, Leto was pretty good.

**Soon**

Minutes later, the Beater-hopefuls landed on the ground, try-out completed. Sirius wore a very deep scowl. He performed decently, but at one point a Bludger struck him in the side. Very unprofessional. He could already feel a bruise forming. Guess who hit that Bludger?

Leto was now standing side-by-side with Concepta as the captain made notes of their performance, the two chatting like besties.

Now to Sirius Black, getting into the Quidditch team meant more than breaking the Black family mold.

* * *

"Marauders, we need to get out of this funk."

Remus Lupin groaned internally, wondering what in the world James could possibly be planning this time. "What funk?" he asked flatly, not raising his eyes from his homework.

"You know as well as I do," Potter replied. "Ever since the funeral we've been as brain-dead as Pereguinn is now."

"James! How could you say that?"

"Sorry, just saying."

Lupin turned back to his work, feeling peeved. Recently, because of the whole "Pereguinn incident", the Marauders have been pretty low on the mischief-radar—and Remus liked it that way. He knew whatever was about to happen would be bad.

James continued. "To get ourselves back in action, we need a project. A really fantastic, challenging one."

_You kidding me? _"A challenging project, hmm. Oh—you mean _besides_ the Animagi one?" asked Remus dryly.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Sirius, eyes gleaming mischeivously.

James drew in a dramatic breath. "The Marauder trademark is pranking, right? But tell me, boys, when's the last time we've pulled a practical joke?"

Sirius' eyes grew wide in horror. "You know what? I – I don't remember. I can't recall anything! I'm having amnesia! Help me! HELP! IT'S ALL SLIPPING AWAYYY!"

"Sirius, calm yourself. You're having one of those melodramatic flashes again," frowned Remus. "We had our last prank exactly one week and five days ago. We turned Wendell Crabbe's quills into salamanders."

"Oh, yeah," said Sirius, plopping down on his bed.

"Twelve days," tsked James. "If I wasn't so great, I'd be ashamed of myself. That's why we've got to go into action! Why should we act second-rate if there's not a real rating for our true awesomeness at all?"

"He's right!" piped Peter.

"You always say he's right," Remus countered. He then turned to James. "I almost don't want to hear it."

"Oh, you'll want to hear it, Reme," James lied. "This prank's gonna be so dastardly that everyone will bow down to us!"

"Bow down to you? Isn't that a bit much?"

"And I know just who to reserve this prank to."

Remus was about to ask _on who, _but the evil grin on Potter's face was all too clear.

* * *

Leto's insides felt fluttery, like butterfly wings. Today was the day she'd see if she got onto the Quidditch team. Her desire to be on that team burned almost as badly as her wish for Sirius Black _not _to get in. _Everyone knows the Marauders are all arrogant arses_, she thought as she strode to the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain's office. The problem was, everyone knew it was true, but for some reason everyone still seemed to adore them. Except, of course, their common victims (like Snape) and Lily Evans and her friends.

Thus, it seemed only fair that Sirius would be discluded from Quidditch team. Well, why not? Two Marauders taking the glory of having their red-and-gold robes flap in the wind atop a broomstick would inflate their egos into apocalyptic proportions. It made Leto shudder.

Finally. She arrived at the list. It looked surprisingly short. She soon discovered why – no Beaters were listed. None.

"Y'seem disappointed, Leet," mocked a voice behind her.

Leto turned on him. "Black."

"Please refrain from saying my last name, and I may not rub my success of getting into the Quidditch team so badly in your face," said Sirius, as he looked over Leto's shoulder to look at the list. His smirk straightened out when he saw that he didn't get into the team after all; in fact, the list was mysteriously blank. "Oh."

"Yeah, news flash, no one's name's under Beater, idiot," spat Leto. "Maybe you should use your eyes before you go around saying arrogant shit like that."

"Maybe you should check how far you are from the infirmary before _you_ say annoying shit like that!"

"Oh come on," scolded Concepta Blanche, who had just opened the door to her office and eyed the two disapprovingly. "Don't injure each other when you guys have such a big day tomorrow."

"…You mean the History of Magic test?"

"No! I _mean_, the reason there aren't any Beaters listed is because I have only one Beater spot to fill this year and I have to decide which one of you I want on the team. It's a tough decision. So I want to see you two in the field tomorrow, ten o'clock sharp. _Then _you can fight to the death." With that, the Seeker went back into her office and shut the door.

"This is all your fault," snapped Sirius.

"What are you talking about?"

"If you didn't decide to try out, I'd already be on the team! And I _need _to get in."

"Why? Because you need to hog every last bit of glory that could possibly exist?"

"You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm gonna cream you tomorrow," Sirius said dismissively, already walking away.

"Oh ho. We'll see about _that, _arse!" Leto called after him.

* * *

"Evans," said James in a low voice during Divination. Lily thought that it was very unfortunate that she was paired with James for "crystal ball studying" that day, yet he had been nothing but courteous to her so far, which was strange, so she kept her guard up.

"What do you want?"

He raised his eyes from the sphere's cloudy depths. "I have something very important to ask you."

Lily had a brief urge to tell him to look back into the crystal ball; his hazel gaze was so intense. "What is it?" she inquired.

"Are you all right?"

It took Lily a few seconds to realize that _that _was the question. "What exactly do you mean?"

"You know," he insisted, looking back into the ball. "About the Pereguinn stuff."

Lily's stomach dropped. "Oh." Well? _Was _she all right? _Was _she stable with the fact that one of her best teachers had been murdered by these mysterious fellows called Death Eaters? Lily had to check herself, which wasn't a good sign.

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied as honestly as she could.

"Good to hear. I just wanted to have forewarning, in case you're going to, like, randomly cry on me, or something. Anyway, I think the next couple hours could cheer you up."

"Oh really?" Lily smiled.

"Yup. Things are going to get quite amusing." He rose from his seat, and Lily realized that class was over.

The redhead felt a little giddy as she walked to her next class. James Potter had just asked her how she was. There was some good in him after all! Perhaps, if that shred of decency matured, he wouldn't be such an arrogant toerag. Maybe he and Sev could make amends! Perhaps it was up to Lily to nurture that nub of decency; maybe it was the fate's design…he even had something planned for her! Something really special.

Suddenly, Lily slipped and fell in a slick green liquid. She tried to pick herself up only to fall again, then looked up to see James on the brink of laughter. "Help me up, Potter?"

"You are so easy to fool," he remarked, and he snapped his fingers. Lily tried to scramble away from the broomstick that came zooming towards her, but to no avail. With a swish-and-flick of his wand, James easily plopped her down on the broom, which whisked Lily away and over the staircases.

Turns out the green stuff Lily fell in was somehow slippery _and _extremely sticky, so when she gripped the broom's handle to save her from plummeting to death, she was stuck tight. Lily had absolutely no control of the broomstick. It sped and corkscrewed and swerved and spun and dived as it pleased, ignoring her ear-shattering screams. Finally, after the most terrifying fifteen minutes of Lily's life thus far, the broomstick deposited her on one of the large chandeliers on the ceiling. She was gasping for breath, trying her best not to vomit, when she noticed there was a large crowd below her and many were laughing at her – including James Potter with his arm around Mitsy Yvonne, the Gryffindor slag.

Blinking back tears of anger, Lily knew she had just been duped. Potter was being extra-nice to her recently just so it would sting that much more when he pranked her. He did not have a glimmer of goodness. The concern he showed during their Pereguinn investigation was just a rare blip. Or perhaps even that was part of his pranks. His stupid pranks. Lily could guess how he wanted this cruel joke to end: the teachers would have to come up to the chandelier and publicly rescue her – the ultimate symbol of dependency and humiliation. At this point, Lily would have screamed all the obscenities she knew to the wicked, wicked boy, but instead she was thinking. About when she was 11. When she could jump off the swing set and slow her descent for a safe landing…

Using a spell to project his voice up to her, James bragged, "I win, Evans. And I will _always_ win."

Lily, meanwhile, was scraping off the green goop on her hands against the chain connecting the chandelier to the ceiling. Could she really pull off a trick that she'd done years ago, unintentionally, before she even knew that magic existed? If she failed…well, she was about a bazillion feet above the floor, and failing would guarantee a serious injury if not death. But she couldn't let James have the satisfaction of his plan working. She just could not.

"Mate," said Sirius, who was beside his gloating friend. "She's moving the chandelier."

James looked up and visibly paled at the sight of the lights swinging back and forth. "Is she mad? She'll kill herself!"

"She'll be fine," scoffed Mitsy, vexed by the concern showing on her boyfriend's face. "It's not like she'll jump or anyth—" And then all the onlookers' jaws dropped, because Lily jumped.

Lily did not utter an incantation. She didn't even pull out her wand. She simply thought of flying – flying and the wonderful feel of the wind in her hair and pure happiness and how when she was young, she believed anything, absolutely anything. And, by some unexplained magic, her feet gently touched the ground and Lily grinned like she was eleven years old again.

Applause erupted, but Lily only had eyes for James, whose arm was no longer wrapped around his girlfriend, though _Mitsy_ clutched his arm tightly. He stared at her in shock then, realizing he was in possible danger, laughed nervously: "So…that broomstick...and the winning stuff…it was just a joke…"

Lily drew her wand and 1) blasted Mitsy and James apart then 2) started hexing the guts out of Potter.

Remus smiled as James ran for his life. "He had that coming, didn't he?"

"Their parents are _so _gonna understand when they get married, like, they're totally gonna," gushed Sirius in a falsetto, and the Marauders laughed and watched the pretty lights burst forth from Lily's wand.

**Next day**

It was 9:50 in the morning, but Leto Nonlucet was already walking to the fields with her Quidditch gear, not taking any chances with being late. On her way caught sight of Sirius Black. She gave him her best glare then confidently walked ahead. There was no way she'd let him beat her.

Near the Quidditch pitches there was someone with Concepta, but it was not Vetch York, the keeper.

"Hey Concepta," smirked Greg Peterson, the team's long-time Beater who was a known cheat—in the game and in romantic matters. "Tomorrow night. Wanna let me in your dorm? Everyone else will be at the feast. York doesn't have to know."

Concepta pushed him away none to gently, but it didn't seem like the first time he'd ask her something like this.

"You did that as an excuse to touch me," he crooned.

"Beat it, Peterson. Or get beat. I have try-outs to conduct."

"Whatever you say, Conce."

Once he left, Concepta shuddered and told Leto and Sirius to mount their brooms.

* * *

"Owwwww," moaned Sirius Black in his dormitory bed, complaining about his brand-new bruises.

"Concepta told you guys to _hit _each other with the Bludgers?" asked Peter, in awe.

"That's about it," winced Sirius. He refused to go to the Madam Pomfrey because of his "dignity", despite five purple bruises the size of pizzas.

"Sounds like Conce to me," grinned James, also being "hospitalized" in his own bed – he was still aching from Lily's hexes. "How many times did you manage to hit Leto?"

"Four. But I hit them harder. Isn't that what counts?"

"Conce is the decider, I s'pose."

Sirius never felt uneasier. Or more sore.

* * *

"Lils. You were brilliant yesterday," stated Alice, as if it was a known fact that should be shared with the world.

"Thanks Al," smiled Lily, who was brushing her long red hair.

"She just did what she had ought to do," grinned Leto. "Frankly, I would've used fists and teeth" - she demonstrated by throwing air punches - "but hexes work well too, I s'pose."

"Leto, please try not to over-exert yourself," said Tullia, simultaneously holding a pack of ice to her friend's wounds while reviewing the notes from Defense Against the Dark Arts - Professor Weslick giving out notes was a huge advancement. "I think Quidditch is too dangerous a sport, for you to get four hits with a Bludger like that!"

"Meh. Sirius hits like a sissy," the Beater-hopeful scoffed, though it was clear she was upset.

"It makes me so mad that James thinks he can do stuff like that!" Alice seethed. "You sure gave him what he deserved!"

"Yes," replied Lily, but inside she was miserable. Why Potter acted so crudely was beyond her, but she did not like being a victim. She knew she should forget about the whole thing since she got her vengeance _and _she knew Potter was a lower life-form, but it still hurt. It hurt very much. As if she was hit by a Bludger, not Leto.

* * *

"Well you two," confessed the Gryffindor quidditch captain the next day. "You've impressed me. It's such a rare treat for a captain like myself to witness a pair of stellar Beaters fight to the death. Such ferocity between two players I've never seen – well, excluding Regulus and me, of course – and it was even _more _difficult to decide between two Beaters that could so obviously put our team to the next level…"

"Concepta, you're rambling," interrupted Leto. "Can we get this over with?"

"Oh, yes. Of course. But I'd just like to add how _long _I've—"

"Concepta. Please," Sirius cut in.

"Fine, fine. Leto"—she pointed—"congrats, girlfriend."

"NOOOOOOO!" shouted Sirius. _"What _the – " exclaimed the captain, as he tackled her to the ground.

"Sirius, off!" commanded Leto, as if he was a dog.

"You're next!" cried the furious boy with gritted teeth.

"Black. Off me. Now."

To Leto's astonishment, he begrudgingly released her.

"I was messing with you," said Concepta flatly, brushing off her uniform. "Which, by the way, I'll never do again. You both got in."

After the initial moment of shock, Leto wailed. "_Concepta, _this is unacceptable—!"

"So would you like to give up your position and have Sirius take all the glory?" asked the coach with arched eyebrows. "Didn't think so. I put my neck on the block here, letting you two in. Two third-years on the Beater position alone?" She shook her head. "But it was a bit selfish of me, too. I kicked Greg Peterson off. 'Bout time, I s'pose.

"I expect you guys to come to practice tomorrow and _collaborate. _I know you hate each other's guts. You'll just have to live with it, eh?" She smiled and walked away.

**Fluff time!**

James walked into Transfiguration very cautiously and sat in his assigned seat, next to Lily. She gave him her usual icy silence given to him ever since the prank. It troubled him. It seemed that, just a couple weeks ago, she was finally starting to warm up to him, and now this…

McGonagall left a montage of notes to copy off the board. Lily moistened the tip of her quill and bent over her paper, her red hair veiling her pale face. James began to write as well, when a scratchy feeling rose in his throat – it always happened when he desperately wanted to say something. He ignored it and kept writing, but soon he could stand it no longer. He cleared his throat, a light sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"IbrokeupwithMitsyYvonne," he spluttered. Lily looked up in alarm.

"Pardon?" she asked.

Repeating it, James thought, _damn, why'd I have to go and say that for? _

Evans shrugged. "Very well. Not like it makes a difference, Potter," she added quickly. She tilted her head to the side and looked at him squinty-eyed. "Why'd you think I'd care, anyway?"

_Because I know you don't like Mitsy, _James thought. _Because I _had_ to apologize somehow. _But instead he muttered, "I dunno."

A trace of a smile touched her lips, and it relieved James to know that they shared a foundation of understanding, a square of common ground. A very small square indeed but, for now, it was going to be enough.

**Have a very nice Thanksgiving!**

**~mysterywings**


	10. Another Chapter

**Hullo all. In case you were wondering, I took so long to update partly because I was waiting for a reviewer! Isn't that funny? And sad?**

_**Amazing reviewer of last chapter:**_

_jwtwifan _**...Thanks for the bowtie emote :D**

**So, people in my school have been collapsing left and right from seasonal illnesses. Except me, of course. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. I swear by this. Anyway, as I noticed the poor apple-less people around me becoming sick...inspiration was born!**

_Chapter 10_  
**Another Chapter...**

The Welcoming Feast of Lily Evans's fourth year was not the jolliest of occasions. First of all: she was sick. She wasn't sure what the sickness was or how it descended on her so quickly, but she was sure she caught it from Petunia, who was temporarily bedridden just the week before.

So what started as a sniffle on the Hogwarts Express was now a full-on headache, with tiredness and cold flashes. Still, when asked if she was well enough to go to the Great Hall, Lily decided she could probably tough it out. Key word: _Probably_.

_I am so starting to regret this, _thought Lily as she barely felt the energy to lift her fork. As if her upset stomach could take in food right now. Concentration becoming painful, her gaze wandered around the Hall, mentally noting troubling details:

Perhaps the most obvious one was the dangerous silence of Sirius and Leto. This wouldn't be a surprise to anyone who didn't know that they were actually getting along quite well last year as Gryffindor's youngest Beaters. They were good. Very good. Good enough to get into finals, against Slytherin! Where they lost. Badly.

Right after the game, when spectators saw Leto running towards Sirius, many thought they were going to embrace. It was an embrace all right. Leto screamed, "YOU MADE US LOSE!" (to which Sirius replied, "Skunk-haired [expletive]!") and they both tackled and pummeled each other to unrecognizable states. _So much for friendship, _thought Lily dully as Sirius shot his ex-comrade a glare.

Also, Professor Weslick was gone - but this time the DADA teacher's absence was expected. He announced that he was going to leave right after finals last year (which all the students did...**well** in). Shocked? Well, after learning about how Pereguinn died, Weslick finally realized that it was his job to teach kids how to _defend_ against that kind of stuff, and he dramatically stepped up his teaching. It was a shame he decided to leave. Shivering from cold, Lily remembered their not-so-subtle conversation near the end of the previous year:

_"You're not leaving because of that jinx rumor, are you? The one about how a Defense Professor can only stay one year?" (Lily asked)._

_"I do believe it, Lily," he had replied. "I learned a lot about responsibility here...I think I can put what I learned in better use if I am alive."_

Luckily, a replacement teacher was found in time; he was sitting at the Staff Table now. Everything about him seemed round - his belly, his face, and even a little round mouth, which he dabbed daintily with a napkin. Carefully combed light-brown hair hung above his shoulders. He looked rather cheerful. His name was Professor Elliot Krupnik. Observing him, Lily decided that she couldn't blame Weslick for leaving. He had his life to fear for - a fear Lily luckily never had. _Well, except maybe now, _she thought as she nearly swooned.

She badly wanted to lay down. But the Sorting was occuring, and she didn't want to cause a scene. She would go to Pomfrey's when it ended. Shouldn't be long...McGonagall had just announced the last name _Tubman_...the T's...

"Not looking so well, are we, Evans?" mocked an annoyingly familiar voice that nearly tripled Lily's headache.

Yes, James Potter was back to being a butt-hole. He was nice to her for a while after that atrocious prank last year, but of course he got bored of it fast. It didn't bother her much. Lily needed good hex targets...

"Won't you eat something?" he said with fake sympathy, pushing her full plate towards her. "Don't want to start the new year on an empty stomach."

"Vaiz, Rudolph!" called Professor McGonagall. _Finally, the V's, _Lily thought as she obliged to Potter's requests and speared her fork through a potato.

_BOOM! __PUFF! _A cloud of smoke blew up in Lily's face, triggered by a spell James had stealthily placed. The wicked boy guffawed for about five minutes straight until he realized that Lily hadn't reacted, except for a cough.

"Really, Evans? After all the pranks I've pulled on you, you're speechless after a _smoke spell?_" Lily didn't reply. She was trying _that_ hard to stay conscious.

"Evans?" He hesitantly put a palm on her forehand, shocked to find it burning.

"Why are you touching Lily's face?" asked Alice, aghast.

"OhMerlinshe'sburning! I thought the smoke was harmless!" - he turned to Sirius - "It's harmless, isn't it?"

Lily blinked and looked at her adversary dazedly. "James?" she said hoarsely, and the way her green eyes burned into him and the way she said his name made James feel feverish himself.

At last, the final first-year was sorted, and Lily stood up to go to the infirmary. Her weakened leg muscles wobbled under her, and she gave in to the fight of gravity and decided to take a nap on the floor.

* * *

"What's wrong with her?" demanded James Potter at Madam Pomfrey's. The rest of Lily's friends looked at him disapprovingly. They hadn't wanted him to accompany the unconscious Lily here, James just trailed along himself.

"It wasn't the smoke spell, wasn't it?"

Pomfrey removed a thermometer out of Lily's mouth. "Highly doubted, Mr. Potter. It's a common Muggle sickness, the flu. This is quite a serious case, but under magical care she'll be spic and span in no time."

"Oh! What a relief!" exclaimed Tullia, patting Lily's warm cheek in concern.

"You all can stay for a few more minutes, but you'll have to leave soon - you don't want to catch it." The nurse gave a questioning glance at James, and he realized (with embarassment) that he didn't belong there. If Evans were to wake up now, she certainly wouldn't want to see James at her bedside. She would want Snivellus there instead. He muttered a "have a nice evening," then left.

* * *

**The next day**

The Marauders (minus Lupin) quietly snuck around the halls under the safety of the Invisibility Cloak. Peter ran his stubby fingers against the stone walls until he felt an indent - then he pushed against the wall with all his might. It slid back, revealing a room with a rug, chairs, candy wrappers, and an oak chest in the corner. James and Sirius patted Peter on the back and then entered.

This was what the boys called the Animagi room where, as the name suggests, they worked on the contents of _The Book of Animagus,_ which James removed from the chest. He flipped to a certain page grimly - they've been stuck on the same section for months now and frustration was starting to set in.

In order to be successful Animagists, trainees had to prepare so that their bodies would be used to changing forms quickly and painlessly. To do so, the book provided a spell for the boys to cast on themselves. The enchantment would temporarily turn the boys into a beetle, but a beetle with thought and reason. The goal was to shapeshift into a beetle with minimum discomfort and within a few seconds. Before it would excruciating hours for the Marauders to fully transform, but they've managed to cut it down to just a few minutes. Still too long.

With a sigh, the Marauders lifted their wands and chanted, "_Metamorpho Volucro..."_

Discomfort immediately seized the James's limbs and he grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut until the seizures left his body and he lay a diminutive bug on the floor. He had time to think "_This sucks_" before transforming into a human again, glasses slightly askew and learning that ten full minutes have passed! _I've got to get better..._

Several attempts passed until Peter started to whimper. "I'm tired, mates, let's call it a night..."

"We almost got it," James said, himself discouraged.

"Oh, please, it's getting so late..."

"We're not leaving until we get it, okay?"

With a pitiful sigh, Peter raised his wand barely an inch, mumbled the words, and in two seconds he was a beetle.

James and Sirius rushed towards the insect. "Pete! You got it, mate!"

The sand-colored bug wiggled his antennae, as if pleased, then soon puffed back into Peter Pettigrew.

"How'd you do it?"

"I just let the magic go through me," shrugged Peter with a yawn. "You...have to relax. You're not supposed to...resist it. Didn't hurt a bit."

Sirius and James tried once more, trying to feel as loose as possible. They got the desired affect.

"Great! Wait till we tell Remus!"

They locked the Animagus book in the chest, flung on the Cloak, and raced to the Gryffindor dormitories. They had just taken a marvelous leap towards their goal.

* * *

For the next few days in the infirmary, Lily slept, waking only to swallow her food and medicine. She dreamed a lot. However, there was one dream in particular...

This dream was a true happening. It occured last year, just days before summer break started; Lily was rushing towards the Great Hall with her suitcases. She was supposed to have them there five minutes before. And, of course, she just had to stumble into James Potter.

With the weight of her luggage, she wobbled precariously, but to her surprise James helped steady her - he even reached out a hand to hold her suitcase, but she smacked it away.

"Jeesh, Evans, grouchy much?"

"I'm late," Lily replied, annoyed. "So if you'd _please _get out of my way."

"One question. Are you taking the same electives next year?"

"No. I'm quitting Divination for Runes." A pause. "Please tell me you didn't do the same?"

"No, I'm sticking with what I have," James answered. He ran a hand through his untidy hair and glanced at Lily with a grin. "I guess next year you'll have a big load off your back, eh?"

"Huh?" Lily said like an idiot.

"Well duh, Evans. We won't share the same schedule. I might not even get a chance to prank you next year."

"That I doubt," Lily countered with a smirk.

"So you can shout Hallelujah now or whatever."

"I will," smiled Lily, for some reason enjoying the conversation. "Right after I put away my bags." But Lily knew she had gotten used to seeing Potter every class. She didn't mind him anymore. She always made a fuss about it, though - she wasn't sure why...

"Right, then." Lily nodded and walked away, when she heard James call after her last minute: "Have a nice summer holiday!"

Lily didn't turn and return the wish - it'd be way too awkward. After a moment, though, she looked over her shoulder to see him walking away, off to who knows where. _You too, I guess, _she thought mentally, then she rushed towards the Great Hall.

**...And I hope all of you have a nice winter break!**

**~mysterywings**


End file.
